


Mystlin Migration

by Kaya4114



Category: Real Person Fiction, Totalcox - Fandom
Genre: I am reworking it into an original, I have had this posted on Tumblr years ago and don't want it to be lost with the great NSFW purge, It's not done yet., Its a fantasy story. Takes place in a video game., M/M, This is the longest fic I ever wrote.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 00:03:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 70,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16843114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaya4114/pseuds/Kaya4114
Summary: When Jesse and John get a mysterious email for them to try out a new VR tech video game, they find themselves pulled into a whole new world, only to discover they don't know how to log out.  What happens when you are forced to complete a whole 2 player RPG with your best friend in one go?  And what about everyone else in the real world?   Where do the lines of what is real and what is a game begin and end? And can our favourite Youtubers make it to the end of the game without killing each other along the way?Inspired by shows like Sword Art Online and Log Horizon to name a couple.  My own take on the trope.Sorry for the shit summary.  I never intended to post this to AO3 but I have near 75,000 words written for this story and it would be a shame to lose it due to Tumblrs new NSFW policy.





	1. New tech

**Author's Note:**

> I am still working on this offline, but I am currently reworking it into an original story. I hope you enjoy the read anyone and any feedback is always welcome. There may be formatting errors and also some grammatical errors. I had no beta when I wrote this. Also a few spelling errors as well.

So this is my first Totalcox fanfic and it originally spawned from an idea I had where Jesse and TB get pulled into a game when they were recording a review for it. Not sure if that qualifies as AU or not because they are still their normal real world counterparts, not their video game avatars like some of the Terraria fics out there. I guess this is like 50% AU?  
  
This fic is SFW but that is subject to change if I feel like it haha. As previously stated, I normally am not into slashfic but there is just something about these two that intrigues me, that I might just change my mind about that. I will keep you posted if and when it changes.. Anyways, on with this fic.  
  
***

**Mystlin Migration**

_Sometimes the lines of reality are not as clear as we think.._  
  
Sometimes the things we thought we knew, ended up being something much different. Much.. more…  
  
And sometimes.. the things that we need the most, are right beside us the entire time.. yet we are too blind to see it…

***

It was a day like any other really. 6:00 am in the morning and Jesse’s alarm went off. He got up, had his daily shower, went downstairs and made him self a small breakfast, then proceeded to drag it over to the computer. He sat him self down and maximized the window with Youtube uploader to check to be sure his latest video had posted. As usual, it was giving trouble so he decided it was best to head to bed the evening prior and let it load overnight, praying it would be ready by the morning.

Jesse smiled, taking a bite out of his toast, as he saw that it had posted properly in 720p. Satisfied, he went to check his email. He skimmed through the contents and notifications casually.

_‘youtube comments… twitter reblogs.. facebook posts…_

’ until he noticed an email from from a rather obscure game company asking him to do a review on their brand new Strategy/RPG title “Mystlin Terrae” that they planned to put up on kickstarter in hopes of releasing it later that year. They had included a free CD key for it in an attachment, and even offered to pay him for this review regardless of whether it was favorable or not, guaranteeing it would be

**“The most innovative and realistic gaming experience you will ever have.”**

Jesse thought carefully about it for a moment. He had offers given to him before that were similar to this, stating blah blah blah you review our game and we will let you keep a free copy of it etc, yadda yadda great opportunities and all that. However, this one seemed a little different as money was never usually offered up front. The game companies would usually just give him their grace to post the video and generate ad revenue, rather than actually paying up front. The offer seemed curious and he was unsure whether he was interested or not.

“Well I have a few other videos I need to get out before the end of the week, so I will come back to this later and decide…Hmm.. maybe I will do it for a Fan Friday or something. I have been getting a little low on suggested games to play.”

As he pondered this, Jesse clicked the tab to move the email into his 'pending’ box and went on to finish editing the next Saints Row IV video that he planned to post later that evening. He wanted to get that finished relatively soon, as he was expecting a call from TB in a few hours to schedule the next Co-optional Podcast. Just another ordinary day… or so he thought.

***

John “TotalBiscuit” Bain had been sitting at his computer for the past 3 hours finishing off his latest “WTF is..” and breathed a sigh of relief as he clicked 'publish’ and waited for it to finish configuring. Now all he had to hope for was that Youtube Uploader was feeling nice today and upload his episode properly. He looked at the time and frowned.

“Shit.. I’m behind schedule. I wake up early and I still can’t count on these damn programs to bloody well work. I need to call Jesse and Brooke to organize the pod cast. ..*Sigh* Damn it.. I’ll just have to hope it loads properly.”

Genna, hearing TB’s muttering as she walked into the room, smiled lightly at her husband.

“How is the video editing coming along? I am heading out to the store to get some groceries. We’re low on milk. If you have time for a break do you want to come with? If not, is there anything you would like me to pick up for you?”

John looked up from his computer, the frown leaving briefly as he smiled back at his wife.

“Umm.. Maybe a coffee? I finally finished the editing, but I don’t have enough time to wait for it to post to youtube. I need to give the others a call for the podcast, so I might be a while yet. I’ll see you when you get back, yeah?”

“Alright hon. Don’t stress your self too much.” She said as she leaned in for a kiss.

As she was heading out the door, John replied with a smirk,

“Hah, that’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to deal with Jesse.”

She waved as she headed out the door and John turned back to his PC and opened up Skype.

****

***John Bain calling*  
*(Answer) (Answer with video) (Decline)***

Jesse heard the familiar jingle through his headphones, and clicked 'answer with video’ as John’s face appeared on screen.

“Hey Jesse. Sorry the call is a little late.. I seem to be running a tad behind schedule. You ready to start the podcast?” He sounded less then enthusiastic, as his day had been going none too smoothly.

“Yeah I am. Don’t worry about the lateness. I happen to be running behind, my self.” Jesse replied with a shrug.

“Oh really? Youtube being temperamental to you too hmm? Well any new games to report that you could mention on the show?”

Jesse smiled with a small chuckle to his friend who shared his frustrations.

“Yeeeah, Youtube uploader didn’t post my video until this morning, and I am sure the fans are blowing up my email about it as we speak– Oh speaking of emails! I haven’t gotten the chance to play anything new this week, however I did get a rather interesting email from a game company. Have you ever heard of Comstar Gaming? I am pretty sure they are new, but anyways, they sent me an email with a CD key and download for their game which they said they were going to be posting to Kickstarter if it got some positive reviews. They even offered to pay me for this review on top of whatever I make from the video.”

John thought for a moment. The name Comstar Gaming did have a familiar ring to it, but he couldn’t remember off hand where he had seen it.

“Actually I think I have heard of them though I can’t quite place it. Hang on a minute..”

John then proceeded to open up his email and went to the search bar at the top, typing in “Comstar”. Sure enough there was an email from them that he had opened, but was far too busy to deal with it at that exact moment in time.

“Actually yes, they sent me an email as well. It reads,

_"Dear John Bain,_  
  
As avid fans of your "WTF is..” series, we would like to ask if you would be interested in doing a review of our newest game “Mystlin Terrae”. It is a strategy/RPG game that puts your knowledge to the test while bringing you an engaging and fun experience. We guarantee that it will be the most realistic gameplay you will ever see.  
  
If you enjoy our game, we will post it to kickstarter to try and gain some backing for it and hope to release it sometime within the next year. We know that you understand how hard it can be for the indie game industry to make a break, and we understand you are probably really busy, but we will pay you five hundred US dollars to put out a video of your first impressions of the game at your earliest convenience.  
  
Attached are a couple CD keys and a download for our game. It is still in alpha, but we believe it will hold up to your standards, though we will not hold it against you if you do not find the game to be very good. There are two CD keys attached if you wanted to test out the muliplayer mode.  
  
We thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you.  
  
Sincerely,  
James Marrot" 

And he signed the bottom of it. That’s really quite odd. Not many people pay extra just for a simple game review. Especially when no one else had seen the thing yet. One would think you would want to put it on Kickstarter first, wouldn’t you say?“

Jesse nodded, "I know, right? I mean, the game could suck, sure, but five hundred bucks will pay for my food for the next month. And who knows.. maybe the game could be good? You think I should do it? I was thinking of maybe making it a Fan Friday or something.”

John thought about it momentarily and replied to him.

“Well actually… The fans have been bugging me non stop about our Terraria episodes, but I really just haven’t had the time to do them as you already know, what with the back up of games I need to already review for "WTF is..” and on top of that, Genna has needed my help around the house.. “

Jesse nodded listening, "Mmhmm.”

“…However you are right that 500 dollars does seem like a good deal. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? If they tried to pull a stunt like Wild Games Studio and flag us for copywrite because they don’t like the review, I just have to show Youtube this email and they remove the strike. ”

“Yeah.. but what does that have to do with Terraria?” Jesse replied, confused.

“Well I was thinking maybe we could do the review together. The game should have online support since they gave me a few CD keys to give out to friends to play muliplayer with, and it would give the fans something to to satiate their cravings while waiting for our next Terraria episodes.”

Jesse nodded with a smirk.

“You have a good point TB. The fans have been bugging me about it too. Maybe this will give them something else to write their slashfic about.” He said with a laugh, earning a scowl from John.

“Shut up… I don’t want to be reminded that those exist. There is a very good reason I don’t go on Tumblr.”

Jesse just laughed as John then made a call to Dodger to start the podcast.

***

Some time later after the Podcast finished, John finally got up from his computer and went downstairs for dinner. Genna was sitting at the table as a box of pizza lay beside some plates and two bottles of soda.

“So you finally came out of your man cave.” Genna teased, Taking a bite of her pizza, “I was wondering if you were ever going to emerge.”

John grabbed a plate and a slice him self, sitting down at the table with her.

“I’m sorry hon. I was just really busy today. I finally managed to get that damn video posted, and I am glad to say I was rather productive today. How about you? How was your day?”

Genna took another bite of her pizza with a silent pause before speaking,

“I wish I could say the same really.. The store was closed today and I didn’t have enough time to go to another one, so the grosheries will have to wait until tomorrow. That’s why we are having pizza for dinner…”

John looked at her.. something was kind of off.

“Not enough time?” he asked. It was about noon that she said she was going. Why wouldn’t she have enough time?

Genna looked at him with a worried expression.

“My sister called. Apparently there is some trouble going on with mom. They had to take her to the hospital today and the docters don’t know what’s wrong… She said she had a headache but she became really dizzy and couldn’t walk anywhere. They called 911 and she is currently in hospital now. ”

John scooted his chair closer to her, worry evident on his face.

“Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know. I am going to be returning to the hospital tomorrow to find out if they know anything. I would have told you earlier, but it was just so sudden and I knew you were really busy today. ”

Genna laid her head on John’s shoulder as he held her to comfort her.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I couldn’t ask you… All anyone can really do is wait and see right now…”

John gently kissed her head as she hugged him tightly.

“..I.. I might not be around the house too much in the next few months.” She continued.

“It’s understandable. She’s your mum. You should go look after her if she needs you.”

Silent tears fell from Genna’s eyes as she tightened her hug.

“Thank you for understanding.. I love you John.”

As they finished their meal in silence, John couldn’t help but wonder how long Genna would be gone for. He would miss her while she was gone, but it couldn’t be helped. He had a lot of work to do, and at this point, he couldn’t help her any other way than to be supportive to her in this difficult time.

After finishing his food, he took the plate to the sink and washed it off. Genna headed upstairs to bed, and he finished up downstairs before following her there. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for the both of them.

***

That evening Jesse finally finished up his editing and managed to get the Saints Row IV video up right on time. He then went back into his email, and re read the offer from Comstar Gaming.

**We would like to ask if you would be interested in doing a review of our newest game “Mystlin Terrae”. It is a stratigy/RPG game that puts your knowledge to the test while bringing you an engaging and fun experience…**

“hmm…..”

**We will pay you five hundred US dollars to put out a video of your first impressions of the game at your earliest convenience.**

“..Maybe..”

_–I was thinking maybe we could do the review together–_

John’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Yeah, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Jesse took the email and moved it out of the 'pending’ folder back into his project box and hit reply.

“Dear James Marrot,

I have given my schedule a look at, and agree to do a game review for your Strategy/RPG game. I understand that you also sent out this game to one of my Co-workers John Bain and said that multiplayer online is a feature. We are thinking about doing the review together if that is alright with you? The video will be posted to both of our channels within the month provided John also agrees. If he declines, I will still review your game from a single player perspective.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to play your game, and any payments can be directed to my paypal account.”

Jesse then put down his information and sent the email off. He then opened up the attachment and began to download the game.

“Wow, 12 gigs? Damn that’s kinda large for an indie title.”

Noting how long it might take, he then went downstairs to grab a coffee while waiting for the new game to install.

“I wonder who TB plans to give the third CD key to. Maybe Dodger would like to play with us too?”

As he contemplated this, he finished making his coffee and returned upstairs where the game had just about finished installing, when he got a pop up notice.

Requires additional hardware.

“Well shit. You would think that the company would give us everything we needed to play the thing… Unless they mailed the piece to me? It has been a while since I checked my mail box.”

Jesse then headed out to check his mail box that he used mainly for fan mail and business related stuff. Sure enough there was a package there predated from a week ago.

“Hmm I should probably remind John to check his mail too.”

He brought the box inside, opened it up to find a rather strange piece of equipment. It looked like a headset, but it had wires with little suction cups attached to it that according to the instructions were to go on his temples. The little booklet explained that this was a neroelectrical head set designed to allow you to control your computer with your brainwaves. It was new technology and Jesse had remembered seeing info about it from a few science channels, Vsauce being the first one that came to mind.

He was rather surprised that Comstar would send him something that was so expensive just to try their game. In any case he was very excited to try out his new toy, but he figured it would probably be best to wait for TB. He set the headset on his computer stand, and then proceeded to send a quick skype call to John to remind him to check his mail.

***

From the other room John woke up to the faint noise of skype going off.

“Dear god.. who in their right mind would be sending me a skype call at this hour?” John grumbled to him self as he slowly got out of bed to go see. He turned briefly to look at his sleeping wife, noting the worry still etched on her face, and then he walked through the door into the next room.

****Jesse Cox Calling****

John frowned with an irritated sigh and clicked the button to answer.

“God damnit Jesse, what the hell do you want at this hour?!” He barked at the blonde.

“Geez Sorry TB, I was just kind of excited about this new game and I figured I should remind you to check your PO Box. You remember that game Mystic something-or-other that Comstar Gaming sent us? Well it requires additional hardware and they sent me some crazy shit. Look at this!” Jesse went on and on holding up the new headset and talking about it in a really excited fashion.

“..And you felt the need to wake me up, at two in the morning to tell me this?” He deadpanned, too tired to yell at his friend.

“Well, I had hoped you were still up editing or something. Youtube’s been really crappy lately so I thought there was a good chance you would still be awake. Sorry if I bothered you.” Jesse said, with a guilty tone in his voice.

John sighed, shook his head but smiled at his friend. He needed a distraction from the bad news he was just given, so he figured he may as well stay up and chat a bit with Jesse to take his mind off everything. Jesse may be an idiot, and sometimes annoying, but he always seemed to brighten the mood.

“It’s ok. I’m up now, so tell me more about this.. headset thing. So you say it can control your computer with your brainwaves?”

Jesse smiled brightly and went on about it,

“Yeah! It’s really cool! There are these suction cup thingys that attach to your temples, and it plugs in via USB. You put in the ear pieces, and then use your mouse to set it to smart mode. It then configures your mouse, keyboard all to your brain commands. I saw some stuff mentioned on this in a few of those nerdy science videos that AsapScience and Vsauce post. They probably sent you one as well. When did you want to start filming for the review?”

John thought about it. His wife would probably be leaving some time soon to be closer to her mum, and as a result of that, he would have a bit more time to dedicate to videos.

“Well I will check my mail for it tomorrow, and then maybe we can set this up over skype around 1. Does that sound ok to you?”

Jesse paused a moment before replying, noting John’s expression when he was thinking.

“Sounds great! ..Hey TB.. I know you are tired, so it’s probably just that but.. is everything alright? You normally wouldn’t hesitate to chew me out for waking you up, and I kind of feel like I got off a little to easy for this random 2am phone call.”

John chuckled a little. Couldn’t get anything by him could he? Maybe Jesse wasn’t as much of an idiot as initially thought.

“Actually, there is something. .. Genna’s mum is sick and was just sent to the hospital today. She is leaving sometime in the next while to go see her, so I suppose I will have the place to my self for a bit.”

Jesse frowned sadly at John,

“Will she be ok?”

“We don’t know..”

Silence on both ends for a moment, until Jesse spoke up with his usual demeanor.

“Well this new game should hopefully take your mind off of things that can’t be controlled. But I want you to know, I am here for ya if you need me buddy! You can always talk to me. Ok?”

John smiled at his long time friend. Sometimes he knew just what to say.

“Thank you Jesse. I’ll remember that.”

“Ok. Well it is getting late so I should head to bed. You have your self a good night TB.. well as much as you can anyways. I will talk to you at 1 tomorrow ok?”

“You have a good night your self Jesse. Talk to you then.”

And the skype call ended. John got up and wandered back into the room with his sleeping wife. Staring at her, he gently brushed a stray hair out of her face before turning over and closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep him self.

***

The next morning John awoke to an empty bed and a note beside him.

_“I’m sorry John, I needed to leave really early today. Mom’s not doing well and the Doctors think it could be serious. My sister sent me a text just as I was starting to wake, and told me I needed to be there as soon as possible. You looked really tired from yesterday, so I didn’t bother to wake you. The money to pick up the groceries is downstairs on the table. I love you John and I am sorry I wont be around much. Thank you for understanding._  
  
\- Genna”

John stared at the note for a moment before mumbling to him self.

“Well that was fast. I guess I will have to get the groceries my self today.”

He then hopped out of bed and began his usual routine. He had a shower, ate some breakfast, got dressed and headed up to the computer to check his mail. Then he went out to the store to get groceries and was back again by about noon.

“Only an hour until I have to call Jesse about that game. That reminds me..”

John had grabbed his mail from the PO box shortly after getting groceries and it was sitting on the table ready to be opened. Sure enough the box with the head set was there and he took it out and looked at it.

“Strange piece of equipment… This thing is really supposed to control my computer?”

He took it upstairs to his computer and started to download the game from the email attachment. He then decided to call Dodger to see if she wanted to join them.

“Hey John, what’s up?” She said, cheery as usual.

“Hi. Jesse and I were invited to do a game review and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?”

Dodger smiled kind of sadly and shook her head.

“I’d love to, but I actually have some stuff I need to take care off for the next little while or else I would… Sorry about that.”

“Nono it’s fine. I just have an extra CD key and figured hey, why not? Ya know.?”

Then he realized she wouldn’t be able to participate soon anyways, as they had only sent out one head set. They must have expected any others to have to buy their own.. I guess it was just him and Jesse doing this.

“Ah well. Look, I got to go. But thanks for the offer. I will talk to you later on the podcast K?”

John nodded and said his farewells as skype closed and he was left staring at the newly installed Mystlin Terrae. He noted the graphics didn’t seem as “real” as the email had boasted, but he figured he may as well get into the game before making assessments now.

He called up Jesse who was already setting up as it appeared on his end.

“Hey TB! You ready to play ”

**The most realistic gaming experience ever!“?**

” he laughed to his friend.

John just smiled back.

“I suppose we should get this over with. So, I put the headset on like this, yeah?”

He then picked it up and placed the ear pieces in his ears, and attached the pads to his temple area. He adjusted the mic and then moved the mouse to minimize skype just before hitting record.

Jesse had done the same.

“Alright broski. Ready when you are. Lets do this thing!”

They both clicked the “smart mode” on the new headset program, and immediately felt a strange tingle where the electrodes were placed on their temples. John noted he was beginning to feel a little dizzy from it, but the book assured him that this can sometimes happen your first time wearing it.

“Dude, this is.. this is just so weird.” Jesse said over mic, and John swore he could almost see Jesse saying that like he was sitting right in front of him. John also noted that he could indeed move the curser without even moving his hand.

“This certainly is interesting Jesse. Ladies and Gentlemen welcome. My name is TotalBiscuit and I am joined today by everybody’s favorite annoying youtube gamer, Jesse Cox.”

“Hey-oooo!” Jesse replied in his usual trademarked fashion.

“And we.. we are here to ask and answer one simple question… WTF is Mystlin Terrae?”

As John continued speaking, he began to feel more and more far away.. like he was almost outside of him self. It was the strangest feeling and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

Jesse was having similar experiences and decided to chime in.

“This game.. It’s a new game that TB and I both were invited to try, and.. it’s played using a very unique set of controls.. See watch this!”

And Jesse’s red mouse curser began to circle around really quickly.

“I am doing that.. with my MIIIINNNNDDD. Like WooooOOOoooooOOooo.”

Jesse being his usual self, John continued on.

“Indeed.. thanks for that Jesse.. Yes. That is right folks, we each have a new headset that lets us control the game with your brainwaves essentially. Very new hardware and something we might come to see in the future. So what do you say we get this game started shall we?”

John clicked the start button on the screen, and immediately his senses were overloaded with a sound and he felt the world fall beneath him.

Everything started to go black. The last thing he heard on his end, was Jesse saying,

“Whoa…what.. what is happening?…

****************


	2. New World

Darkness was all he could see. Then he heard a narrator speaking into his mind.  
  
 _ **Deep inside… There exists a place in all of us…**_  
  
The darkness started to brighten up a little as he could see a pin prick of light in the center of his vision.  
  
 _ **A place where we can go, to be our selves….**_  
  
That pin hole began to grow into a small ball of light as the darkness around him changed and was turning blue.  
  
 _ **A place where no one will judge us based off our race… Gender… Or physical limitations..**_  
  
The ball of light then gave way to what looked like a red crystal sword hovering in front of him.  
  
 ** _A place where we can live our wildest dreams…_**  
  
The world slowly started to take shape now around him as he saw the grass forming around the ground, the red sword still floating at eye level.  
  
 _ **Or face our darkest nightmares….**_  
  
As the world expanded before him, large trees formed and a path that soon became a road formed out towards the now visible horizon. The blue sky turned to an eerie night upon the mention of nightmares.   
  
_**That place is not as fabled as once believed. It is as real as you or me. So tell me young one.. Are you ready to fight for what you believe in?**_  
  
John then found him self standing in a field with a clear path ahead of him, and what looked like a holographic display in front of him that said:  
  
 **< Say your name>**  
  
John took a moment to look around him… Yeah this certainly was the most realistic gaming experience he had ever had… In fact it was starting to freak him out how real the game appeared to be.  
  
His eyes fell on the prompt again. Say your name it said.  
  
“Totalbiscuit” He said aloud and the prompt then flashed a bright violet and enveloped him with its light, then disappeared.  
  
“Hmm.. I guess the game knows my name now.. Is this still recording? Jesse can you hear me?” He said aloud. No one answered.  
  
TB was starting to get really worried at this point.   
  
“Jesse? This isn’t funny now. Come on!”  
  
Still nothing. John began to panic a bit, realizing that he had no idea how to log off, or get out of this strange new world he found him self in, and he wasn’t even sure if Jesse was there with him. If he was, John couldn’t even imagine how Jesse was taking all this. The only thing he knew at this point was, he needed to find his friend and figure out what the hell was going on.  
  
His eyes then fell on the sword in front of him again.   
  
“This must be my starter weapon. Well at least they give you something, considering they don’t tell you jack shit about the game otherwise.”  
  
He grabbed the sword and felt a slight increase in his physical strength. It was as if he just took a swig of an energy drink. The sensation was beyond anything he had ever experienced before, and he was sure this would be the first of many to come while he was in this strange place.   
  
Momentarily distracted from his original worry, he walked to the pond that he saw about 20 feet from where he spawned, and took a look at him self. He looked exactly the same as he did in real life– minus the rather Celtic looking clothes, and he smiled a little turning slightly to the left and looking him self up and down assessing everything.  
  
“The game must take data acquired from my memory to know what I look like physically. How fascinating..”  
  
Another few moments passed and his mind went back to the worries from earlier.  
  
“Well, I don’t know if this is recording, but in the chance that it still is, I am going to note that -yes- this game wasn’t lying when it said that this will be the most realistic experience in gaming I will have ever had. I feel like I am talking to my self here.. And my first order of business I suppose, will be to find Jesse. For all I know, he could wined up already being attacked or something…”  
  
John trailed off feeling kind of stupid wondering if he was talking to him self, and then decided to try that path that was leading him towards the horizon. Maybe it would lead to a town? Or hopefully Jesse. Maybe both.  
  
***** Meanwhile*****   
  
Jesse’s head felt like it was spinning. After the introduction and asking for his name, he found him self standing what appeared to be in the middle of nowhere.  
  
“J.. John?… Are.. are you there? Can you hear me?”  
  
No answer back, so he just looked around him. There was a path leading out towards the horizon and two trees on the opposite side of each. Jesse took that as a sign that he should head in that direction, when he tripped over what looked like a red short sword. Jesse picked it up and felt a surge of strength like nothing he ever experienced.   
  
“This game just keeps surprising me again and again. I got to find John though.. It looks like it is going to be getting dark.”  
  
Jesse started walking along the path and eventually as expected encountered a village. He noted he was beginning to get hungry, and thought aloud to him self in off chance the game was still recording,  
  
“Man this game has a hunger meter as well? Or maybe I am just hungry in real life.. I guess I could explore the village and see if they have any places that serve food and find out. After that though, we have to find TB. The poor brit is probably crying in a corner without me.”  
  
Chuckling at the thought, he wandered up to one of the houses that said “Aleena’s Pub” and strolled inside. Sure enough there was a rather realistic looking human behind the counter who addressed Jesse casually.  
  
“What can I get fer ya? You hungry fine sir?”  
  
Jesse sat down and looked at her and smiled.  
  
“Very hungry actually.” Just at that moment though, he realized he had no money to pay for any food here and that thought alarmed him slightly. “But, I don’t have much coin. I’m sorry miss.”  
  
The lady just smiled back at Jesse and replied,  
  
“Oh don’t worry ‘bout et. The first meal is on the house. There’s been word of a couple of travelers in these parts. They say they’re lookin’ for the mythical Blood Crystal to take down the Dark Lord… He’s been a tyrant to our land for many a year. If someone could knock him down a peg, I’d be willin’ to give’m anythin’ they asked fer at no charge… and I be suspectin’ ye be one of them.”  
  
Jesse thought for a moment and smiled. The object of the game must clearly be to take out this Dark Lord. Basic RPG fair, you talk to townsfolk to find out your quests. This game was going to be a lot of fun.  
  
“Well.. I am a traveler..and I am looking to help wherever I can.” He replied with a wink.  
  
The bar keeper smiled at him and placed a hunk of bread on the table with what appeared to be butter beside it.  
  
“Well then tell ye what? You help me out a little bit, and I be givin’ ya a place to stay fer the night. The name is Aleena. Nice to meet yeh.”  
  
Jesse held out his hand to her and replied.  
  
“They call me Mojo.. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.”  
  
  
*******  
  
John felt like he had been walking for at least an hour when he finally got to a village. No sign of Jesse anywhere, and there didn’t appear to be too many enemies either. It was more or less and uneventful trek there.   
  
“Well it _is_ alpha.” He reminded him self. He should be thanking his lucky stars he wasn’t jumped by anything yet. John still had no idea how combat worked in this game and he didn’t even know what would happen if you die. Would you re spawn? Would the game be over? And what would happen to his brain? If swords could make him feel the power they had, then surly he would feel pain upon being hit too. It would only make sense after all.  
  
He eventually found him self standing in front of a bar called Aleena’s Pub. At that point Join realized, he was absolutely starving. Walking in, he was greeted with a welcoming site.   
  
There was Jesse, sitting at the bar talking with some woman and eating what appeared to be some kind of bread.  
  
Jesse turned and noticed him, a smile lighting up on his face.  
  
“TB!” He said with his mouth half full.  
  
“Jesse! There you are! I feel like I’ve been walking around for an hour. We’ve got to try and find out what’s going on.”  
  
Jesse waved his hand at John in a somewhat dismissive manner while getting up, and walked over to see his friend.  
  
“Oh I already know what we have to do, don’t worry. Aleena here told me that we are looking for the Bloodstone in order to defeat this Dark Lord that has been bothering them. ”  
  
John sighed at Jesse rolling his eyes.  
  
“That isn’t quite what I meant. We still don’t even know how to get out of here do we? Do you know how to log off or hit alt f4?” John looked hopeful.  
  
Jesse’s smile fell a little bit as he thought for a moment, and his eyes showed a little bit of fear when he said,  
“No… I .. I never actually thought about that til now.”  
  
John’s hopeful look dissolved into a frown that matched Jesse’s as he said quietly,  
  
“That means.. we are trapped here until we can find.. find a way out of this place.”  
  
They both stood there for a moment thinking, and then Jesse spoke up.  
  
“We could maybe beat the game. Then it would bring us back to the title screen like most games when you beat them. The credits roll and then you end up back at the selection screen.”  
  
John shook head head, fear instilling in him even stronger than before.  
  
“Jesse, this is an RPG.. finishing it could take weeks! And.. We need to be more careful when facing against enemies. When I picked up that sword, I felt a power like nothing I have ever experienced in my entire life! Who’s to say that when we get hurt in game, we feel pain too? This new hardware we have on, connects to our neural system. We still don’t know what happens if we die here.”  
  
Jesse swallowed really hard looking at John with a fear in his eyes realizing that indeed, they were stuck.  
  
“Well it’s worth a try. It may take weeks but it’s the only lead we got.”  
  
John nodded back, a grim look on his face, the fear subsiding a little bit.  
  
“I do suppose you are right. At least Genna wont be around to wonder what’s happened to me too.. she’s got enough on her plate as it is. I can only hope that I am just probably passed out at the computer and maybe dreaming this whole thing up.”  
  
“That would make two of us buddy.” Jesse chuckled slapping John on the back trying to lighten the mood. They walked up to the counter and Jesse’s smile brightened, “Here let me introduce you to Aleena.”  
  
“Jesse, that is an NPC.” John replied rolling his eyes.  
  
“I beg yer pardon Sir?” The lady said to him with a look that said she was insulted. TB just looked at her sheepishly. She may be an NPC, but she was realistic enough to make him regret his choice of words.  
  
“Umm.. er.. Excuse my rudeness ma'am.”  
  
“I should hope so. The name’s Aleena. I take it you are the other Travel companion of Mojo here?”  
  
John smiled at her, taking note that the NPC’s in this game must have just as amazing AI as the graphics, and replied to her in kind.  
  
“Yes actually. My name is Total Biscuit, though sometimes I am referred to as TB. Er.. um.. Please to make your acquaintance?”  
  
“Likewise I’m sure.” She replied to him, “Can I get yeh somethin’ ta eat lad? As I been sayin’ to Mojo here, I offer the first meal free o’ charge, and I be given’ ya a place to sleep provided ye help me out around 'ere once and a while.” Aleena smiled at him and placed another hunk of bread, the exact one Jesse had, on the table in front of him along with that butter substance.  
  
“Umm, Thank you ma'am. Your kindness is much appreciated.”  
  
As he ate the bread sitting beside Jesse, he couldn’t help but marvel at the detail of the graphics of this game. It truly was like he was in a whole different world. Under any other circumstance, he would be giving nothing but praise to this new game and it’s company for being completely innovative, except the blaring fact that he had no idea how to log out, nor did he know how to go about finding out.   
  
Jesse didn’t seem all that worried about this though, seeming to be taking the time to enjoy the new game. He knew that RPG and strategy games were Jesse’s favorite genres, so the prospect of beating the game must be really appealing to him John figured. He really could be a child sometimes. He had no comprehension at all of the dangers this could pose to the two of them being here.  
  
Jesse sat in his chair finishing up his food. The bread was surprisingly tasty for just a simple hunk of data. This game was actually quite amazing really. He glanced over at John and noticed the brit looking out into the window hazily with a worried expression.   
  
He did have a point about this being a predicament, since they couldn’t log out, but honestly the guy needed to learn to live a little. He was always so uptight and worrying about things rather than sitting back an enjoying what he had. Obviously this was out of their control, so why worry about things you can’t change or fix? The best thing to do in these situations was to ride it out and try to have fun with it. Last he checked John’s reality wasn’t the happiest place to be at the moment anyways, so maybe he should use this to take his mind off it.  
  
“Well, I guess we should find a place to stay. Aleena, do you happen to have any spare rooms available tonight? ”  
  
Aleena looked at Jesse and smiled.  
  
“I believe I have one. Though t'mara I will require ye to pay me a fee if ye wish to stay the night again. The bills don’t pay them selves ya know.”  
  
“Completely understandable.” John replied to her. He felt a little odd saying it, knowing she was an NPC and not a real person, but it was becoming easier and easier to forget that little fact. She then lit a candle and showed them up the stairs and lead them to the room on the end.  
  
“I hope this’ll be te yer likin’. Sorry there’s only one bed. I’ll look fer a cot for one of ye. Be back in a moment.” and she placed the candle on the night stand and walked off down the hall leaving TB and Jesse to stare at the comfortable looking bed.  
  
“DIBS!” Jesse yelled, and ran for the bed attempting to jump to it.  
  
“OVER MY DEAD BODY, COX!” John replied, and leaped at the bed him self.  
  
In a flash of feathers and pillow down, Aleena came back upstairs to find the two men wrestling on the bed trying to push the other off. She coughed a little bit to get their attention and replied to them sweetly,  
  
“Well if yer sharin’ I could jus’ put these extra blankets back, unless ye think yer gonna need them. Just..umm.. try not te make too much noise tonight. Ye could wake the other guests, an we can’t have that.”  
  
John and Jesse both flushed bright red at the implication.  
  
“Umm, no we aren’t sharing. Sorry to cause you trouble miss. Mojo here will be taking the cot, and I get the bed.” John said to her as nicely as possible, as Jesse elbowed him in the stomach.  
  
“I think my friend TB here has it wrong. I am the one who is taking the bed tonight, though he thanks you for the cot.”  
  
John, tired of arguing and not wanting to make an even bigger fool of him self, threw his hands up dejectedly and said “Fine. I’ll take the cot.” Glowering at Jesse, he then turned his attention back to Aleena and smiled at her gratefully, “Thank you for the hospitality Aleena.”  
  
Aleena smiled back with a slight chuckle and said nothing as she walked over beside the bed and set up the cot for TB to sleep in. She then paused before leaving the room,  
  
“Sleep well ye two. See ye in tha marnin.”  
  
And then it was the two of them. Jesse looked at John and John back at Jesse.   
  
“I get the bed tomorrow.” John said with a sigh, his irritation getting the better of him.  
  
“Fine.” Jesse replied with a smirk, as he began to take off his boots, stripping down to get ready to turn in for the night.  
  
John tried his best not to look at Jesse as he stripped down him self, and crawled under the covers of the cot.   
  
Jesse, once he was situated, leaned over and turned to John.  
  
“Night TB.”   
  
John just sighed, wondering how the hell he always managed to end up in these kinds of situations whenever Jesse was involved.  
  
“..Goodnight… Jesse. ” He said back as he rolled over and closed his eyes. Jesse then blew out the candle, leaving the room pitch black.  
  
******


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, John awoke to the sound of chatter downstairs and the bed where Jesse was, was now just an empty heap of blankets.  
  
Tidying his area and getting dressed, he wandered down the stairs to find Jesse once again sitting at the bar, chatting with Aleena. The place was actually fairly busy today, various villagers having their breakfast and chatting with one and other.  
  
John approached the bar and sat next to his companion who offered him a big goofy smile and a plate with what looked like eggs and bacon.  
  
“Morning TB!” Jesse said cheerfully.  
  
“Marnin’ to ye.” Aleena also chimed in, “I figured ye may want somethin’ to eat befar ye leave. Don’t worry ‘bout the bill. As I said, first stay is free o’ charge, and no right hostess would let ye leave with out breakfast.”  
  
John sat down as Aleena handed him a fork. Jesse took another bite of his own meal, and nodded at him to eat up.  
  
“Thank you.” He replied to her, and began to eat, noting that food actually tasted pretty good in this game world.  
  
“It looks like we have a lot of work to do today, buddy.” Jesse said enthusiastically to John.   
  
He was right. They probably should start trying to find a way to make some gold so they would be able to pay for lodging for the coming nights. It was clear they had no other options for getting out of this game, so the best plan of action was to stock up on supplies, and then go take down that Dark Lord… Which brought him to his next worry. Leveling.   
  
They still had no idea how combat or the leveling system worked here. All that he knew was that they needed to get some sort of blood stone to defeat their enemy, and he had no idea where to go about obtaining one. Jesse mentioned that Aleena was the one who told him that, so maybe he should ask her?   
  
“So.. Aleena.. Do you happen to know how we would go about getting this blood stone? Jess-er I mean Mojo, he told me you mentioned you heard about us and that we were looking for it, yeah? I figured maybe you might be able to help us in locating it.”  
  
Aleena looked at John, then back to Jesse, and again at John before replying.  
  
“Well.. I don’t know too much, however there been whispers 'bout ye all around. I heard that the Blood Crystal was a super powerful article that only the bravest folks go after. They say that the Dark Lord has a weapon made from et, an he uses et to strike down any who opposes em. Thats all I know.”  
  
Intrigued, John nodded at this information, as Jesse took his turn to ask a question.  
  
“And what about this Dark Lord. Do you know anything about him?”  
  
Aleena looked a little uncomfortable speaking about him in public. Her voice lowered to almost a whisper as she replied,  
  
“Well, I can’t say too much. We don’t know who be listenin’ in Mojo, but the Dark Lord is a tarrible man. Every month he comes to this town, an takes one of us away to the dungeons. He calls it taxin’. We be a poor town, with not a lot to offer, so if we can’t pay him the alloted coin he asks, he takes one of us a payment. Nobody knows what happens to them after they’re gone. Poor Ms. Buchan lost her only son. Now she lives alone in the house to the north o’ here. She’s not taken it too well.”  
  
“I see..” Jesse replied with a sad expression, but then turned to a determined one. “Don’t worry Aleena, we will get her son back. We will save everybody. We are the great Mojo and TB, and we will rescue you! The Dark Lord wont get away with this.”  
  
John noticed in the corner of his eye someone who got up quietly and left the tavern after leaving a few coins on the table. He wasn’t sure if it was coincidence or not, but he had an inkling that the person leaving was listening in, and someone who they should follow. He turned to Jesse and whispered to him,  
  
“I hate to cut this short, but I think we were just eavesdropped on.. And the person who heard us just left. It might be in our best interest to get out of here.”  
  
Jesse looked at John and back to Aleena and smiled.  
  
“We should be heading out about now I think. Thank you for all you have done for us Aleena. We will be back again soon.”  
  
Aleena smiled at Jesse, bidding him a fare well.  
  
“Take care you two. An be careful.”   
  
“We will.”  
  
The two of them got up and headed for the door, a worried look on John’s face. He had a bad feeling something serious was about to go down and he had no idea how to go about the situation. They needed to learn how to fight, and fast because something deep inside told him that the patron leaving wasn’t just a simple villager eating there for breakfast. Something told him that they were being followed.  
  
Upon leaving the tavern Jesse turned to John.  
  
“So, where to, broski?”  
  
John looked around, but the patron was no where to be seen. He supposed it was for the best anyways, as they only had one weapon each among them, and neither of them knew how to use it. He thought for a moment and then replied,   
  
“Well I guess we should start with something small. Maybe head up to the place Aleena mentioned… A Ms.Buchan’s place I believe it was? See if there isn’t more information we could learn from her. Maybe get some sort of task to complete for experience or gold or something.”  
  
Jesse nodded but then paused as he noticed something, then proceeded to walk across the road to a sign that said: **Wanted - Rat tails.**   
  
_“There have been a group of rats that have been eating my crops. Willing to give 200 gold and a bag of corn to anyone willing to exterminate them for me. Bring me their tails as proof. Farmer Harris.”_ Hey TB, come over here… this looks like an easy enough task. Why don’t we take care of this first?“  
  
John wandered over to Jesse and then read the poster for him self. "Hmm.. yeah.. That doesn’t seem like a bad place to start. It will at least get us some cash to help us.”  
  
As soon as the words left John’s mouth, one of the small satchels on both of their sides flashed a bright yellow for a brief moment. John and Jesse looked at one and other, eyes wide, then grabbed their packs in unison and looked inside. They both had what appeared to be a map, and on it two bright glowing dots that seemed to mark their current location. On John’s map, the purple dot was just a little bit brighter than the red one, and on Jesse’s map it was the opposite, with the red dot being brighter. There also was a yellow dot on both of them that was off to the east of where they were.  
  
“I am willing to bet we just picked up our first quest.” Jesse said, “When I had to say my name earlier, I was hit with this red light. I’m guessing that dot is me.”  
  
“Then that would make me the purple one respectively. So the yellow dot must be where the farm is… I have a feeling these maps will be very useful to us.” John replied, “So all I have is a sword. Did you get anything different when you logged in?”  
  
Jesse was searching his bags at this point to see what else he got. He had a small bag with a picture of a gold coin on it, empty as expected. He had a flask with water in it, and the red crystal sword that they both received upon starting the game. He also had a travelers manual that he held up for John to see.  
  
“This could have been useful to me yesterday..” He mumbled as he took the book from Jesse and started flipping through. As he was reading, he noticed that some of it was written with real-world instruction on things about the game–and with that, the hope returned to him that there may _actually_ be a way to log out and get back to the real world. He started reading desperately.   
  
_**Sometimes the road can be rough and it is always advised to keep your sword close. When you venture far from towns, often you will find dark creatures that are not always friendly. It is advised to travel along the road during the day if you are alone.**_  
  
 _ **The party system in this game is simple. What you need is for all party members to have the intention to travel with each other, have them stand within 2 meters of you and they will appear on your map which can be located in your left satchel. If you wish to disband, the same rule applies. Have the intention of traveling alone, and their positions will be removed from your map and you from theirs.**_  
  
“Well that explains how the map works at least..” John continued leafing through the manual hoping for some way to log out. A few moments passed, but he found nothing. Panic started to set in again as he began to think of the consequences of being stuck there.  
  
“Damnit!.. I can’t find any way to close or save the game in here!.. All it is, is general stuff. It’s useful sure, but what happens if my wife needs me? What about the videos I have to have out today? What about next weeks podcast? What about–”  
  
Jesse placed a hand on John’s shoulder stopping his rant mid sentience,  
  
“Bro.. Don’t worry about it.”  
  
John looked over at Jesse his fear diving into anger and rage.   
  
“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! We are STUCK in a BLOODY _VIDEO GAME!_ I have _REAL WORLD_ responsibilities I need to take care of!” John exploded on Jesse, all the fears inside of him making him a wreck of nerves. Continuing his verbal attack he added, “You just go through life not even giving a shit about anything! This is all just fun and games for you - why can’t you just be responsible for once in your god damn life Jesse?”  
  
Jesse’s smile faded and he removed his hand from John’s shoulder looking a mix of angry at him, and hurt.  
  
“Dude, calm the fuck down! You worry way to much! Sometimes in life, you can’t always have things go your way or work out just perfectly. But guess what? THATS LIFE! You think I LIKE the idea of being stuck here, or that it doesn’t scare the shit out of me? Because you’re wrong. I don’t like the idea of being here any more than you do, but there is NOTHING. WE. CAN. DO. ABOUT IT! ”   
  
Jesse began to pace back and forth,  
  
“You even agreed with me yesterday that the best plan was to just suck it up and finish the game. And that is what we are going to do. It’s almost as if you blame ME for us being here.. and that isn’t fair. I didn’t put us here. How the hell was I supposed to know?”  
  
John just stood there seething at Jesse, his anger almost blinding him. He really wanted to beat the shit out of something right now but with Jesse’s words starting to sink in, his anger began to dissolve.  
  
“.. You’re right.. This..” He motioned his hand around, “This isn’t your fault. I apologize for blowing up on you. I’m just –”  
  
“Worried? I know. You have a lot on your plate, what with your wife’s mom in the hospital, and now we’re stuck in some game world with no way to get out right now. I get it… Just don’t take your shit out on me, ok? You want to get angry at something? Get angry at that Dark Lord guy.” Jesse started to chuckle a little, grinning at the idea.  
  
“Hell… I bet if he saw you angry he’d turn tail and run. Everyone knows the anger of the great TotalBiscuit. No one escapes your wrath when you go on a tangent like that; It’s what you’re famous for! ”  
  
John just stood there and slowly began to smile at Jesse. He did have a tendency to game rage. His nic name wasn’t **The Cynical Brit** for nothing. After a small moment, John then placed his hand on Jesse’s shoulder,  
  
“Thanks man.” Was all he said.  
  
Their brief argument over, Jesse went back to his usual bubbly, happy self.  
  
“Lets go kick some rat’s ass? What do ya say buddy?” Jesse smiled, and grabbed Johns hand. John just nodded and they headed off towards the east.  
  
  
  
 *****Meanwhile*****  
  
  
  
Lightning stretched across the darkened sky, miles from where the players had began their quest. A dark figure stood atop a throne, staring into a floating orb which contained the images of both Jesse and John .  
  
“Pitiful little creatures.. they think they can stop me? They have no idea what’s to come.. hehe.. Go on young ones.. try to take me down.. My face will be the last thing you will see.” The dark figure said with a evil laugh.   
  
There was a knock on the door to the room and a young man with dark brown hair approached the throne.  
  
“Permission to speak, my lord?”  
  
“Permission granted.”  
  
“I’ve found your targets, sir. They were last spotted in Vindius, staying at Aleenas pub. Did you want me to send some men to take them out?”  
  
The Dark Lord thought about it a moment.  
  
“No…. Not yet. I want to watch them first. First rule of war: Never under estimate your enemies.”  
  
The boy nodded and the Dark Lord continued,  
  
“However, tell me all you know about them.”  
  
The boy bowed and spoke up,   
  
“Yes sir. The Blonde’s name is "Mojo”. He didn’t say where he was from, but he boasts great power claiming he plans to 'rescue’ your … _volunteers_.. from the dungeon. “   
  
The boy chuckled a little at the thought and continued,   
  
"I wouldn’t worry too much about him. It’s his friend that I would be more concerned with. I believe they called him "TB”.. He knows about the Blood Crystal and they plan to obtain one for them selves with the purpose of dethroning you. This “TB” had noticed my presence really quickly my Lord. Had I not left when I did, he might have spotted me, and I would not have been able to report back to you. I sense a great power in that one.. a 6th sense if you will. That is all I have to report for now.“  
  
The Dark Lord nodded.   
  
"Good. Excellent. Keep a close watch on them, but be careful not to get caught. Report back to me in one week’s time. I will decide what we will do about them then.”  
  
“Yes sir.”  
  
The boy then bowed, and walked out of the room leaving the Dark Lord to his thoughts. _TB and Mojo hmm.. Breaking them should be a lot of fun._  
  
 ********  
  
“Just… Just look at them all, John. There’s like.. at least a hundred of them. How the hell are we supposed to exterminate all _that?!_ ”   
  
Jesse and John just stood on top of a hill, staring down at the infested farm. There were giant rats everywhere and they all seemed to be running around almost aimlessly.  
  
“Oh quit your complaining and come on! This can’t be too hard…”  
  
John was the first to run down the hill, sword in hand. He let out a rather vicious battle cry as he sliced one of the rats in half. It exploded into particles of data leaving behind a cleanly chopped tail, and as it exploded, the particles seemed to absorb into John him self. As they surrounded him, he felt a sensation similar to picking up his sword for the first time, and he turned back to Jesse who just stood there in awe of his best friend.  
  
“Dude! That was freakin’ COOL!” Jesse said with a large grin on his face.  
  
“Wow..” Was all John could say, and then he smiled with a chuckle and proceeded to attack another rat.  
  
“Wait for me!” Jesse cried, and ran down the hill after his friend, sword at the ready. Approaching the bottom, he went to go slice a rat him self, but tripped on a rock and went tumbling into John knocking him over and landing on top of him.  
  
The rat in question whom Jesse went to attack, just looked at him with a somewhat angry sneer, and then proceeded to bite him right on his ass.  
  
“OW!” Jesse yelped, and John – who was about to push Jesse off of him, burst into laughter instead.  
  
“Ow! Ow OW! It’s not FUNNY!!! Get him OFF ME!! GET HIM OFF ME!!” Jesse yelped, as John was just rolling on the ground in a fit of giggles, completely out of character for his usual stoic self.  
  
Jesse grabbed the hilt of his sword and eventually ended up slicing the creature in half, as a clean rat tail landed on the ground, and data particles absorbing into Jesse giving him a tingly rush. After a short pause, and a “whoa..” from Jesse, he turned to the giggling brit with a scowl.  
  
“That was NOT funny.”  
  
John, trying to stifle his chuckles, simply replied,  
  
“Heheh… You..heh, You’re right… It wasn’t funny….” Jesse smiled and John continued, “It was HILARIOUS!” and started to laugh again, the scowl returning to Jesse’s face momentarily until he him self burst into laughter.  
  
The two of them sat there just laughing with each other about the situation, until it became apparent they had about 20 or so Rats running in their direction. Standing up, John said to Jesse,  
  
“I suggest we shield out backsides with each other, lest one of us gets another nip it the butt, wouldn’t you say?”  
  
Nodding at him and standing with his back to TB’s, Jesse simply replied, “You aren’t ever going to let this go are you?”  
  
“Never.” And the two of them proceeded to make work of the on coming mobs.  
  
Jesse slashed his sword left and right as rats jumped at him, occasionally whipping him in the face with their tails. John, mirroring Jesse’s actions, sliced and gashed anything that came within his range, and every time one of the rats died, each of them felt a warm tingly rush. Eventually they cleared the mob, and upon the ground were dozens of rat tails. With a look around, they noticed that the farm was clear and there were no more vermin running about the area any longer.  
  
“See? That didn’t take too long.” John said to his companion, a satisfied smirk on his face. Jesse just smiled back and said,   
  
“Yeah.. That was actually kinda fun.. So where do we take these tails?”  
  
John pulled out the map and looked at it. The yellow dot had changed positions, and led back to the town they were just in. Apparently the towns name was Vindius, and it looked to be near a large forested area that they would eventually most likely have to explore. He turned back to Jesse and pointed at the map.  
  
“We have to head back to town I suppose. Next stop we can go to will be that house to the north. Ms.Buchan probably will have some information for us that we can use. In the vary least, we may pick up a quest to rescue her son.”  
  
Jesse looked off to the direction they came from and then looked back at John.  
  
“Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I’m starting to get hungry again too, so maybe we can hit up Aleena’s again for some dinner. ”  
  
“I swear sometimes all you think about is food.” He replied, and started to pick up the remaining tails laying about the ground, and placing them in his pack. The two of them then started back along the path towards Vindius, unaware that they were being followed by a dark shadow.  
  
 *******  
  
Upon reaching the town, Jesse looked at his map and motioned for John to follow him.  
  
“According to this, Farmer Harris is located in a house off the the left of here. It’s time to get some MONAYYZZ!” Jesse sing-songed. John just chuckled and followed him. He had to admit, he was now starting to get a bit hungry him self. Maybe visiting Aleena wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Get a bit of warm food, and a nice bed for the evening . _Jesse would NOT be taking the bed again_ he thought to him self with a nod. Eventually they approached the house and knocked on the door.  
  
The door opened and a tall, lanky figure with sandy colored hair and square glasses answered the door. He had overalls on, and a sour look on his face.  
  
“Yeah? What do you want?” He said gruffly.  
  
“Hello sir, would you happen to be Farmer Harris?” Jesse asked the man, smiling brightly.  
  
“Yeah.. Why do you ask?” The man eyed the two of them up and down suspiciously. “We don’t get too many visitors in these here parts. ”  
  
Jesse then opened his satchel and held up the rat tails, as the mans sour look turned into one of shock and then a smile.  
  
“So I see you saw my wanted ad. Didja clear all them varmots out?”  
  
“Every last one of them.” John added holding up his half of the rat tails with a grin of his own.  
  
“Well I’ll be called a flamin’ Goblin… Ya did it. Thank ya very much. Come in, come in!” He said, and motioned for the two of them to enter the house.  
  
John and Jesse both stepped into the small little place. It had photos on the wall of what looked like the farmers wife, and various pictures of their farm. The woman in the photos soon emerged from what looked like the kitchen down the hall, and she ushered the two of them to sit down.  
  
“Come! Sit! It is almost time for dinner. So I hear you two were the ones who rescued our farm from vermin infestation. Please stay for dinner, it’s the least we can do.”  
  
The wife smiled sweetly at them, and then went back into the kitchen to finish cooking as the farmer came to sit at the table with a coin purse in hand.  
  
“Ya see, me and the misses here have been farmers for decades. One day a bunch of greedy rats came by though, and started eatin’ all our crops. Eventually more and more came, and we couldn’t take care of the problem anymore, so we were forced to move into the city.. It gets dangerous out at night ya know. We just want our farm back. City life aint for us..”  
  
Jesse and John listened to the story the man told, and when prompted by him, told them a little about them selves.  
  
“So what are the names of the heroes that saved our home?”  
  
“They call me Mojo, and this here is Total Biscuit but everyone calls him TB for short.”  
  
“Mojo and TB eh. I like ya. Here is your reward. You can split it amongst your selves. ”   
  
The farmer then laid the coin on the table. 200 gold pieces, shiny and clean. Then the wife came into the room with a hot basket of bread.  
  
“Dinner will be shortly, I do hope you two will stay.”  
  
John looked over at Jesse who looked to be starving at this point, his eyes large staring at the steaming bread and whipped butter on the side.  
  
“We would love to stay for dinner.” John replied to them, smiling. Jesse threw him a grateful look and grabbed a piece of bread and started to dig in. John followed suit just as quickly and soon the bread was all but crumbs.  
  
At that point, the wife came out with a jug of chilled milk and some sort of beef dish that was like nothing TB and Jesse had ever tasted. It was salty and savory, kind of sweet and very juicy. She served it with some soup and potatoes, carrots and corn. The two of them ate until they could eat no more and at the end of the meal, proceeded to thank their hosts for the wonderful food.  
  
“Your very welcome” The two of them said, and then asked, “Did you two have a place you were staying for the night? It’s starting to get dark, and we can’t have you wandering about with no where to sleep.”  
  
Jesse looked over at John briefly, then looked back at the Harris’s,   
  
“We don’t exactly have a place per say, but we don’t want to trouble you any further. Thank you for your hospitality, Mr and Mrs. Harris. I hope you get back to your farm soon, and get back to doing the things you enjoy.”  
  
The couple nodded at their heroes and led them to the door.  
  
“Well if you ever need a place to stay, you know where you can come. You are always welcome with us.”  
  
“Thank you. Have a good evening.” John and Jesse said, and then they walked out the door and into the darkness of the night.  
  
The two walked in silence towards Aleena’s Pub, until John spoke up.  
  
“We could have stayed you know. They are just NPCs.. it’s not like we are putting them out by being there.”  
  
Jesse looked over at John with an expression he couldn’t quite place.  
  
“..I know.. I know but.. they are just so… I dunno.. Realistic. It felt wrong to take advantage, ya know?”  
  
John did know. He understood that feeling more and more with each passing moment.  
  
“I know what you mean….We’ve only been here for two days and already the people are starting to feel like real people.. It’s becoming easy to forget that this is a video game. When the email boasted _"most realistic gaming experience”_ it really was not kidding.“  
  
Jesse smiled at his friend as they were almost at the pub.  
  
"I know right?”  
  
The two of them eventually found there way back to the little tavern and walked in to see Aleena, in her usual place behind the bar.  
  
“Mojo! TB! Good to see ye two again! Did yer day go well? Did ye find any more infromation on what y'all are lookin’ far?”  
  
Jesse smiled at her and John couldn’t help but smile, him self.  
  
“No, sadly we didn’t get any leads. We did however manage to clean up a farm for a couple, and they should be able to return to their beloved home soon.”  
  
Aleena smiled and nodded,  
  
“Ah the Harris’s. Yeah they been out o’ work for quite a while. I’m glad ye were able to help em out. Did ye need a place far the night again lads?”  
  
John smiled at her and nodded.  
  
“We did actually. I hope it isn’t too much trouble.”  
  
Aleena waved her hand in a dismissive manner at them, “Nonsense. Come! I will get your cot and bed set up far ye. Unfortunately, we still only have one room tonight. Ye keep coming in late ye know. I fill my rooms up fast.”  
  
“That will be fine.” John said with a smirk. He would be getting the bed tonight, so he didn’t really care where Jesse ended up sleeping.  
  
As Aleena got up to grab the extra blankets and cot, she paused and turned to them with an apologetic look on her face before saying,   
  
“I will need ye to pay me tonight though. Bills don’t pay them selves.” Jesse just held up his wallet and smiled at her.  
  
“That wont be a problem, Aleena.”   
  
Aleena smiled back at Jesse, the apologetic look turning to one of gratefulness as she walked up the stairs to ready their room. Jesse turned to John with a mischievous look in his eye which John immediately knew what that meant.  
  
“No.” Was all he said.   
  
“Come on TB! Please? My butt’s still sore from earlier.. I need it more then you.”  
  
“No. You said I could have the bed tonight, and I am holding you to that.” John said with a stern look on his face, and a warning in his tone. Jesse just chuckled and said, “Alright.. You can have the bed.” But the mischievous look on his face returned leaving John to wonder what he was planning.  
  
Aleena returned with a smile and lit another candle and led them back upstairs to the room they had before.  
  
“Alright ye two. Be good an try not te make much noise. Good night an see ye in the marnin.” And she was out the door before either of them could protest any implications the “be quiet” might have meant.  
  
John laid his bags and satchels beside the bed, and then sat down and started to remove his boots. Jesse sat on the cot and began to strip down to his under clothes, folding his armor neatly beside his bags. Once both men were undressed, John laid down in the bed and pulled the covers up rolling over with his back facing Jesse. Jesse glanced over at John and pulled out his Travelers Guide, laying down on top of the cot while pulling the candle closer to him.  
  
“What are you doing with the light?” John asked, knowing Jesse had to be up to something. He couldn’t get that look out of his mind from earlier and knew Jesse was going to pull something. He had the bed, sure.. but it couldn’t have been _that_ easy.   
  
“I’m just gonna read for a bit John. You get some sleep ok? I’ll try and come up with a plan for tomorrow.” Jesse said casually. John didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but at this point the food from earlier was making him sleepy and the days work they did, had him out like a light before he had more time to think about anything else.  
  
 *******  
  
The next morning John was laying on his back and there seemed to be a rather large pillow leaning up against his left. He already came to the realization that he couldn’t move. As he started to gain consciousness he heard the pillow begin to snore. Thats when he realized it wasn’t a pillow at all.   
  
_Jesse._  
  
Unable to move or do much of anything, he laid there listening to Jesse breathe, the occasional snore escaping him from his exhaustion. How late had he stayed up reading that book? How soon did John fall asleep? _When the hell did he crawl into the bed with me and why the hell didn’t I wake up and notice?_  
  
John began to miss his wife. He missed waking up to her cuddled against him. He missed hearing her little moans and mumbles during sleep and even the occasional snore. He realized that in this world, he was actually quite alone. Sure the people seemed real, but in reality they were just AI computers, programmed to respond to what is said and done, and they don’t really have emotion or feelings.   
  
John listened to Jesse breathe. _'I guess I am not all **that** alone..’ _ he thought to him self. Jesse could be annoying sometimes. A lot of the time, he liked to just run in blindly not thinking about any consequences for his actions. However Jesse was also trustworthy. A true friend. The type of person that would jump in front of a bullet for you, with complete disregard for his own safety. If John could have been stuck here with anyone else, he would rather it be Jesse of all people, really, now that he thought about it.   
  
John smiled and snuggled a little closer to his friend. He may miss his wife, but at least he had someone he could trust. Jesse was warm and soft. Maybe he could nap for a little bit longer…  
  
 *******


	4. Ch4

**== Earlier that evening==**  
  
Jesse looked up from the Travelers Guide at the lump on the bed that was TB. He had probably been reading for maybe an hour or so, learning as best he could basic mechanics of the game world that the two friends had recently come to be a part of. He cautiously and quietly asked aloud,  
  
“John?….. You still awake?”  
  
A moment passed with no answer and the mischievous grin from earlier returned to his face. He decided to ask one more time, just to be sure before commencing his prank.  
  
“Psst.. You sleeping John?”  
  
Again no answer. Jesse grinned evilly as he slowly sat up from the cot and put the book down on the night stand. The candle was getting low on wax and would be going out soon anyways, so Jesse figured it was time for him to head to bed.   
  
It was true he agreed to let John have the bed the next time the two of them found them selves with only one sleeping quarter, however he never said that the bed would be exclusively Johns. The conversation from the other day popped up in his mind about how John didn’t like the idea of slash fic of the two of them on Tumblr, and he wondered to him self how TB would react to sharing the bed.   
  
Chuckling under his breath, he carefully lifted the one side of the covers and sat down on the bed next to the sleeping form of John, who was still curled into a ball with his back facing the cot, just as he had been earlier when he went to sleep about an hour ago.  
  
Jesse then slowly put one leg on the bed, followed by the second, and then proceeded to pull the covers up as he eased him self into the warm comfy mattress.  
  
 _~I’m probably going to have my ass handed to me in the morning~_ He thought to him self, _~But it will be worth it to see the look on his face.~_  
  
John then shifted making Jesse go ridged, worried he might have woke the Brit up. A moment passed, and John was now laying on his back, a look of blissful dreaming upon his face. Jesse exhaled a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, and he slowly adjusted him self to get comfortable. Once comfy, he looked at John, who was dead to the world, and smiled at his friend, musing about their relationship with one and other.  
  
He thought about earlier when John reassured him that they would be able to complete their quest and then running down the hill and gracefully killing one of those giant rat things. The way the data particles sparkled before they absorbed into John, and the awesome pose he struck… That was probably the coolest thing he had ever seen.  
  
He remembered his own lame attempt at being cool which resulted in landing flat on top of John, and the melodic sound of John’s laughter when he was bit in the ass. I guess it _was_ kinda funny. Then he remembered how they stood back to back, battle stances ready, and made quick work of the rest of the vermin. A task that could have taken hours only took maybe thirty minutes,  
  
 _~You know, when we aren’t arguing about something, we do make a pretty good team…_ ~ He mused with a smile.  
  
He noticed how John’s hair looked almost sable in the flickering of the candle light. Even though his hair was thinning, it was shiny and soft looking and always seemed clean. He noticed the small smile on his lips and the way he kept his beard neatly trimmed…  
  
 _~John also isn’t as scary looking when hes asleep… One might even say he looks kind of cute.~_  
  
Upon thinking this, Jesse shook his head. Cute? That wasn’t a usual adjective he would use to describe guys. Jesse had been strait pretty much, all his life. There were a few boys that caught his interest in high school, but he never really thought much into that, chalking it up to simple experimental thoughts and self realization. Every kid had those kinds of thoughts during that time in their life right? All those hormones running on high from puberty..  
  
Jesse sat there looking at John. Occasionally John would mumble something under his breath; his British accent a little stronger than when he was awake. Those lips that were curled in a small smile…  
  
Jesse blushed, realizing just exactly how close he was in proximity to his friend, and the thoughts that were running through his mind worried him.  
  
 _~Damnit brain, you’re thinking too much. This is TB. Your **friend.** Who happens to be **married.** And strait. And we shouldn’t be thinking about this.~_  
  
Jesse closed his eyes tight trying to will away the images he was starting to see in his mind. John’s lips looked really soft….. Maybe those self realizations in high school were not entirely accurate…..   
  
…Or maybe he just hadn’t jacked off in a while. Yeah. That was it. He had been joking about those slash fics earlier, and with him not having the chance to rub one out recently, these images were playing in his head. He just needed to relive him self, and then all the homoerotic images of him kissing his best friend–best _MARRIED_ friend, he reminded him self– would be all gone.   
  
But he couldn’t do that right now… If John woke up to Jesse in the bed next to him doing _that_.. he would proceed to kick the shit out of him, and then never speak to him again. Never mind the misunderstandings or anything Jesse would have to say. As it was, _he_ was trying to not think of it.  
  
Jesse carefully rolled over on to his side, slowly doing his best not to wake up John, and closed his eyes hoping to sleep. He decided tomorrow he would go take care of his little problem. He would figure out whatever self assessments he needed to make after that.  
  
 _~Damn those fan fics..~_  
  
 ~~ *******~~  
  
The next morning, light passed through the dusty window hitting Jesse’s face, eventually waking him up. Squinting as he opened his eyes, he went to move his right hand to shield them from the sun, when he realized that he couldn’t. John was not only still sleeping, but was pressed firmly against his side, cuddling him in a somewhat intimate position; Jesse’s arm obstructed by the Brits’ which was draped around his waist pinning it between them.   
  
Using his left hand instead, he shielded his eyes, the images from last nights thoughts reforming in his mind bringing a light blush to the Blonde’s cheeks. John’s whole body was pressed clean against his, and his head was tucked almost completely against Jesse’s neck. Every time TB exhaled, the breath hit his shoulder, exerting a shiver down Jesse’s spine turning his light blush into a full deep crimson red. He needed to get out of the bed. **Now.**  
  
 _Maybe if I carefully pull away, I can get off the bed before he wakes up. He will never even know what happened. I can then go ask Aleena if she has a shower I could use… I **really** need a shower._  
  
Jesse, ever so slowly, eased him self out of the bed inciting a discontented moan from the Brit. Pulling away, John’s hand briefly brushed Jesse’s “morning wood” as he pulled him self out of John’s arms. Blushing furiously yet carefully trying not to wake him, he managed to finally get off the bed, and exhaled in relief as the dark haired man was still fast asleep.  
  
Looking down at the tent in his boxers, Jesse blushed again and began to pull on his pants before heading downstairs to see if Aleena had a shower he could borrow. Hitting the bottom step, the girl in question emerged from the kitchen area of the pub, and smiled at Jesse with a warm look.  
  
“Marnin’ Mojo! Did ye sleep well, lad?”   
  
“Good morning Aleena.. Me? Ehh, for the most part yeah I slept ok.. I was wondering if you had a shower I could use.”  
  
Aleena nodded and replied,  
  
“I do, yeh. It’s in the back.. Follow me.”  
  
Aleena led him to a small room in the back which had a crude toilet and what must have been a shower stall. There was soap on the ledge and some shampoo in an unmarked bottle on the table to the side.  
  
“I’ll have to head out back to the other side an’ turn on the pump for ye. I’ll be a moment.” She said, and walked out of the room leaving Jesse alone with his thoughts again.  
  
Images of TB’s lips on his, invaded his mind and he shook his head, cursing him self for thinking such things about his friend. Stripping down and placing his pants and boxers on the table next to the shampoo, he thought to him self reassuringly,   
  
_It’s ok Jesse. Soon enough, you’ll be able to get cleaned up, get your self off, and everything will be back to the way it was before. The only reason you are thinking of him is because you haven’t had any for a while, and you had this brilliant idea to play a prank on him cuz you know he is freaked out by those creepy fan fics._  
  
Soon enough a steady stream of hot water started to pour from the shower head. He figured Aleena must have turned the pump on. Stepping into the hot stream, he allowed his muscles to relax, and he just stood under the hot water trying his best to clear his mind.  
  
Grabbing the soap on the ledge, he started to lather him self up, running his hands over his arms and then down his chest feeling the soap coat his sweaty skin. The water felt nice and it was good to finally have a shower since he didn’t get one the day prior. He began to get goosebumps as the warm water touched his erogenous zones, and he felt his hard on return full force.  
  
He closed his eyes and concentrated on a random hot girl he made up in his mind. _She had long black hair, amber-brown eyes and a sexy, sexy smile._  
  
 _She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, spooning into Jesse as she licked his neck._  
  
Jesse’s hand wrapped firmly around his now aching member and he slowly began to pump him self.  
  
 _The woman ran her hand down Jesse’s chest and grabbed his cock and tenderly stroked it as she brought her face away from his neck and pressed her soft lips against his._  
  
Jesse began to increase his pace as he pumped him self faster, quiet moans and gasps escaping his lips.  
  
 _When she pulled back from him, what Jesse saw was not the woman he had pictured initially, but yet another black haired, brown eyed individual who whispered to him in his thick British accent, “You know you like this.. You know you want it.. Tell me you want it Jesse.”_  
  
Jesse was too into his fantasy to care that it was TB he was thinking about. He let out a slightly louder moan, answering the image in his mind.  
  
“John.. I want it.. Give it to me John.. Make me… make me–”  
  
Jesse pumped him self hard, counter thrusting into his hand with his hips until a white sticky substance pushed its way forward bringing feelings of relief and ecstasy to the front on his mind.  
  
He gasped and sighed trying to regulate his breathing, and eventually slumped against the shower wall letting the last shock waves of ecstasy finish their course. Opening his eyes and grabbing the shampoo from the table next to the shower, he proceeded to finish up. Hopefully this would be the last of the John fantasies, he thought to him self cautiously. All that pent up frustration was finally released, and now he could get back to trying to finish this game. Jesse wondered if John had woken up yet.   
  
_I guess I’ll find out once I am finished in here._  
  
 ~~ *******~~  
  
John rolled over in the bed reaching for the warm body that was next to it… only to find that it had vanished. Giving a discontented grunt, he rolled on to his back and laid flat.. Slowly coming back to full consciousness, he remembered the events of earlier, waking up to see Jesse on the bed next to him. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, falling back asleep next to Jesse – upon waking up– he felt more rested then he had been in days. He figured the blonde was probably down stairs hassling Aleena and eating breakfast.   
  
“I should probably go join him.” John said to him self, and then began to get dressed, packing up the remainder of their items and heading down the hall.  
  
 _It’s probably best if I don’t mention him sharing the bed. I can’t have Aleena thinking any more than she does about the two of us, and quite frankly, I don’t really need to hear why Jesse decided to do that. I’ll just pass this off the one time, and make sure we get a proper bedroom tonight._   
  
He walked down the wooden steps and sure enough, there was Jesse, sitting over a plate of eggs and toast chatting with Aleena as usual. Aleena looked over and greeted John with a smile.  
  
“Marnin sleepy head. Ya want some breakfast?”  
  
John returned her smile sitting down at the bar next to Jesse,  
  
“That would be lovely, thanks.”  
  
Aleena turned from the bar and headed into the kitchen to prepare something for him to eat. A few moments passed and John noticed Jesse was eerily quiet.  
  
 _Heh.. Even if I didn’t wake up to find him in the bed, he makes it glaringly obvious somethings up. The question is… should I play dumb or should I confront him about it.._ John mused to him self.  
  
He originally decided he wasn’t going to confront Jesse about invading his bed space, but the lack of conversation this morning was begging him to ask what was up. He figured maybe it was best to let the blonde know he knew what happened.. but the question was, ’ _how to go about doing it?’_  
  
“Geeze, you’re quiet today.” John tried.  
  
Jesse looked over at him with a nervous smile, a brief pause before replying.  
  
“Oh, uh.. I just.. I’m still kind of tired this morning is all.”  
  
“How late did you stay up reading that book anyways?” John continued. This was a question he was actually curious about, since he was usually a light sleeper but he didn’t even notice Jesse crawl under the covers with him.  
  
Jesse took that excuse and ran with it,  
  
“I was up really late actually. After the candle ran out of wax, I had to use the moonlight from the window to continue the last page.” He fibbed. He then went on to explain a little about some of the things he read about, “I learned a lot about this game actually, and there are some interesting things we can do once we reach the next level.. I’ll tell you about them after breakfast if you like.”  
  
As Jesse finished that sentience, Aleena came out with a plate full of bacon, eggs, toast and cheese, and placed it in front of John handing him a fork.  
  
“Eat up! You two probably have a lot o’ work to do today I imagine, and the sun ain’t getting any higher in the sky. It’s already noon. Oh, and TB was it? Mojo here asked me about the shower earlier. If ye wanted to get yer self cleaned up, I can show ye where it is. Just let me know, alright?”  
  
John smiled at the thought. He could use a shower actually..  
  
“Thank you, yes.. after my meal I think I will take you up on that offer Aleena. Thank you for being such a wonderful hostess.”  
  
Aleena just shook her head with a grin saying, “don’t worry ‘bout et lad. Just eat up.” –and then went to go greet a group of people who had just entered her pub for lunch.  
  
John turned back to Jesse, who again was quiet. He decided he would just confront him about it. As much as he could get annoying with his chatter, it was a lot stranger when he wasn’t chiming in with his two cents every now and again.  
  
“I know what you did.” John simply said.  
  
Jesse coughed on his toast and went ridged, a worried look in his eyes.  
  
 _How did he find out? I wasn’t that loud I thought.. Are there vents in the shower room? Oh god, did everyone hear me?_  
  
“I.. I can explain…” Jesse stuttered.  
  
“No need to explain anything.” John said to him. Jesse looked absolutely mortified and was awaiting whatever verbal lashing John would give him.   
  
John continued, “It was cold last night, yeah? That cot isn’t exactly the warmest sleeping quarters, so you thought you would sneak into the bed without me knowing about it. Although I would have been irritated by the idea of sharing the bed, I suppose it’s better than you freezing your ballocks off. Besides, you were being productive staying up and reading that guide, so it was the least I could do to let you be warm when you actually went to sleep.”  
  
Jesse stood there confused for a moment, trying to figure out John’s words. All he could come up with to respond was,   
  
“So.. you’re not mad?”  
  
John just rolled his eyes at him and responded, “Let’s just forget about it, ok?”  
  
Jesse, grateful for the free pass, let the whole thing go. He was more relieved that John had no idea about what happened after he got up. The blonde grinned at his dark haired companion.  
  
“I’m glad you aren’t angry. I have some interesting things to tell you. How would you like to become a wizard?”  
  
John rolled his eyes. Jesse liked to make jokes about how he went to hogwarts growing up, so the suggestion of him being a wizard was unsurprising to say the least. But that must mean that there is a class system in this game. John repeated that aloud.  
  
“There’s a class system in this game then?”  
  
Jesse nodded, “Yeah. Once you reach level 2 according to the guide, you can choose to specialize in certain areas of your craft. You can gain skill points in magic, or you can choose to place them in strength and more physical based attacks.”  
  
Jesse had been trying to decide what he wanted to specialize in ever since he read that paragraph. He figured John would choose magic, so he was trying to think of something that would compliment their team well. He wasn’t very good at sneaking, so a rogue/thief type wasn’t really an option. Healing magic wasn’t something he felt he had an affinity for either, so maybe he would become a brawler or a swordsman.  
  
John sat there eating the last of his meal, thinking.  
  
“Yeah.. I could maybe be a mage or wizard or something.”  
  
Aleena returned to the bar and took their now empty plates, looking at Jesse and then John with her usual smile. Jesse placed 10 gold pieces on the table in front of her and asked,  
  
“Is this enough for the night plus the food?”  
  
Aleena nodded, “More than enough. I thank ye.” She then took the dirty dishes into the back, leaving Jesse and John to think about their classes.  
  
“I think I am going to choose swordsmanship.” Jesse said to John. John nodded and stood up as Aleena returned to the front.  
  
“I think I am ready for that shower..”  
  
Aleena then motioned for John to follow her, and the two of them headed into the back leaving Jesse sitting at the bar to wait for him to clean up.  
  
 ~~ *******~~  
  
Some time later after John had finished cleaning up and they said their goodbyes to Aleena, they found them selves along the road, heading towards the forest that they saw on the map earlier. The two of them figured it might be best to level up before going to Ms.Buchan’s place to ask about her son, and they figured the surrounding area probably had mobs that they would be able to get a little more experience from.  
  
Jesse had seemed a little on edge still, but John just figured he was still a little surprised for getting off the hook so easily. TB him self was a little unsure about why he let it go… Under normal circumstances, he probably would have kicked the man out of his bed, reminding him of the agreement they had, and then uttered a few threats or two about what would happen if Jesse ever pulled a stunt like that again. But instead he just laid there, and let the blonde sleep, watching his chest rise and fall and then eventually decided to rest a bit more him self. Jesse wasn’t bad company really. And it was a little chilly that night as well. He was just being a good friend, thats all.  
  
Suddenly the pair happened upon a group a roaming goblins. They looked fairly weak and seemed to be camped by the side of the road, looking to jump unsuspecting travelers. John motioned for Jesse to stay there, as he quietly snuck up on the group hoping for an ambush. He raised his sword and in one swift blow, slashed one of the green skinned monsters across the back. The creature then turned around, blood beginning to pour down the wound, and screamed a warning cry to his friends. As the other 5 goblins came running to their brothers aid, John ran towards Jesse noting aloud,   
  
“These guys are stronger than those rats! Be on your guard Jesse!”  
  
Jesse gulped and raised his sword, ready to fight as the group descended upon them. He noticed John was swinging his weapon violently, but with more skill than the first enemy encounter they had, and realized they had to be gaining quite a bit of experience from these guys comparatively. Jesse finished off the one John first attacked, making it explode into a million data-particles and leaving behind 20 gold coins and a bag. Upon absorption of the particles, Jesse began to glow red.  
  
John noticed this and looked at his friend worriedly.  
  
“Jesse! You ok?” He asked mid swing, fending off the remaining goblins as best he could.  
  
Jesse felt a rush like nothing he ever felt before. This was stronger then the first time he picked up the sword, and even more intense than when he killed his first mob. As the glow faded back to normal, Jesse’s grin turned deadly.  
  
“You have _no idea_ , hehe..” he responded to TB, as he raised his blade which started to glow red, and then came crashing down–HARD–on to one of the oncoming Goblins, effectively cutting it clean in half! It exploded into data-particles as all mobs did, and absorbed into Jesse leaving behind a variation of the items the last goblin did.  
  
Jesse turned to John and simply said with a smirk, “Ding.”  
  
John chuckled, and replied the only appropriate answer, “Grats.” He then turned his attention to the remaining mobs, the last 3, who at this point were retreating away.  
  
“You’re running from us? What cowards you all are!” He yelled to them, “Well I guess that means we will have to hunt you down.”   
  
John proceeded to run at them, catching up to the stubby legged creatures, and began to jump attack them, finishing them off with a swift flowing slice. All three of them exploded and left behind various loot, and John then began to glow purple.  
  
Jesse watched with a smile on his face as his best friend reached the next level. If classes were chosen based on intentions, the same way the party system on the map seemed to work, then John would automatically become whatever it was he most wanted to be.  
  
John felt his most intense rush yet. He could feel the world spinning around him, but with it, knowledge like nothing he had ever thought of before coming to his mind. He all of a sudden realized how the trees and earth co-existed. He realized the composition of fire and how to create it without a match or flint. He could feel the auras of all the surrounding animals and creatures. It was.. breathtaking.  
  
Staring at his hands, he then raised his head and eyes to Jesse who was looking upon him with such adoration like nothing he had seen from his friend before.   
  
“I feel it…” was all he could utter- a mere whisper at first. A smile cracked on his face and he repeated him self to Jesse, “I **FEEL** IT!”  
  
Jesse clapped his hands and chuckled at his friend, “Grats!” He said. John smiled back, still taking in this feeling. After a small moment passed, he then decided to test out his new knowledge.   
  
He cupped his right hand a little bit, and closed his eyes. Drawing power from within his mind, he felt the energies around his hands heat up. Suddenly, there was a small flame in the palm of his right hand, and the harder he focused the energies, the larger the flame grew. John opened his eyes and stared at it with a grin. He then pointed it at a dead bush on the side of the road, which the goblins had been using to hide behind, and threw the fire from his hand clean on to the dead foliage. It burst into flames and then burred away to nothing.  
  
John laughed a deep joyous laugh and turned to Jesse with a smile.  
  
“I’M THE FREAKIN’ ARCHEMAGE OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!” he said to his friend, in reference to a one of the first podcasts they had done. Jesse just laughed.  
  
“Surrre you are buddy. ” And the two of them chuckled together enjoying their new achievements.  
  
“But seriously though, ” John said, “This game keeps surprising me more and more. It’s like, when I think I have experienced something, another one comes along and blows that one out of the water.”  
  
Jesse nodded, “I know what you mean bro. Seriously, when you were glowing purple like that, and then you went all pew pew with the fire.. That was like.. totally the COOLEST thing I have ever seen. I know I might have said that before with the giant rats, but this? This tops that!.”  
  
John grinned at his friend, “Well.. You looked pretty impressive your self. When I saw you glow red, I was worried for a moment. I thought maybe they injured you or something. Then you come out with the fancy sword technique and crushed the vile creature. Very impressive if I do say so.”  
  
Jesse struck an exaggerated pose, flexing his muscles in front of John, but then proceeded to ask,  
  
“So what now? Are we going to continue to the forest, or should we head back to town and ask that lady about her son? We have about four hours until nightfall roughly, so the next move is up to you.”  
  
John thought carefully for a moment, but his thoughts were broken by a strange presence about 100 feet from them. Something he didn’t notice before, but now being a lot stronger, it was a lot more obvious to him.  
  
“I.. Um..”  
  
Upon his sudden change in mood, Jesse questioned him, “Is everything ok John? You look like somethings wrong.”  
  
John then started to stare out into the shrubbery where he sensed the presence. He noticed a change in energies and then the feeling was gone, like it had been before.  
  
John looked at Jesse with a very serious face.  
  
“I think someone is definitely following us Jesse.. It could be the same person who left Aleena’s Tavern the other day, or it could be someone else.. but I think we should be careful. Yeah, lets head back to town and ask that Ms. Buchan about her son. It’s dangerous to be out here right now, I’d wager.”  
  
Jesse nodded in agreement and they headed back along the road towards Vindius. They couldn’t afford to stay outside of town for too long. They had no idea at this point what they were going up against.  
  
 ~~ *******~~  
  
The brown haired boy appered in a puff of smoke in the castle of the Dark Lord, and briskly walked towards his chambers. He knocked on the door, and heard a deep lumbering voice.  
  
“You may enter.”  
  
Upon entering, the Lord was sitting upon his throne, a rather bored look upon his face.  
  
“Mr. Sether… You have more information for me on those two?”  
  
He bowed low to the king,  
  
“Yes sir, but the news I bring isn’t good. The two of them have gotten stronger. The one they call TB has already began to understand the power he wields. He was able to sense my presence while I was in a level one cloak, so I had to apply some extra mana to cast an additional shield. Are you sure you don’t want to send anyone after them? They seem really weak right now compared to your vast armies. Why are you bothering with such child’s play if you don’t mind my asking, your Majesty?”  
  
The Dark Lord stood up and flung a fire ball effortlessly at the brunette, singeing the top of his hair.  
  
“You DO NOT QUESTION ME like that! If you must know, these two hold something I want. Something that I can not just.. take. Continue to watch them. All will be reviled soon.”  
  
The boy known as Mr. Sether bowed his head and left just as quickly as he arrived. The Lord sat back down upon his throne, and brought forth his orb of the skys. The images of Jesse and John appeared on it again, and he uttered to him self,  
  
“I will have you yet. In time.. Your crimson blades will belong to me, and with them, the sages soul. Keep on fighting young ones.. You will rue the day you cross me.. hehehe.”  
  
 ~~ *******~~  
  
The newly leveled duo finally made it back to Vindius, and upon arriving John took out his map. There was no dot to guide them, but he figured he could hazard a guess as to where the grieving mother could live. He studied the paper momentarily and then spoke up.  
  
“So Aleena said she lived to the north, yeah? There is a small patch of houses up that-a-way, so I reckon we make our way there.”  
  
Agreeing, Jesse thought about what they should concentrate on next,  
  
“Maybe if she can tell us which way they took her son, we can get a clue of which way we will need to go once it’s time to leave this town. As much as I enjoy Aleena’s company, we will eventually need to leave so we can continue the storyline. I mean, if this is like any other RPG I have played, they wouldn’t send us into the boss’s lair right away, and we only just hit level 2.”  
  
“I suppose you’re right.” John replied to him.  
  
The two of them ventured up the road, passed their make-shift home of Aleena’s, through a corridor to an old rickety house on the top of a hill to the north. The place looked barren like no one had bothered to upkeep the property and there was a sole candle light inside the window to the left.  
  
John and Jesse approached the steps, and John gave the door a light tap. A moment passed and a woman who looked about her 30’s answered the door. She had a sad face, and dead looking eyes, as if she had cried all the life out of them. She stared up at the pair, with a rather uncaring look on her face and simply asked,  
  
“Who are you supposed to be?”  
  
John gave her an apologetic look and replied,  
  
“My name is Total Biscuit, and this here is Mojo.. I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but could we talk about your son?”  
  
The woman scowled at them, a bitter look on her face.  
  
“What’s there to know? You’ve come to laugh at me too have you? For not being able to look after him? Not being able to contribute to the taxes owed? To hell with ya. I’m not saying a thing!”  
  
Jesse spoke before the woman had a chance to shut the door.  
  
“No no miss, you misunderstand. You see, we are travelers looking to right a terrible wrong that was done to you. This Dark Lord had no right to take him from you, and we only wish to return him to you safe and sound if we possibly can.”  
  
The woman paused, listening to him.  
  
“You want to help my son?” The look on her face was skeptical, but there was a small light of hope behind her eyes.  
  
John added, “Yes. Aleena told us what happened and we have a big problem with people who think they can throw innocents into slavery. We don’t care if he is some Lord. He will pay for all the grief he has caused you, and this town. But we need to know everything you can tell us.”  
  
The woman considered all he said, and said more to her self than them,  
  
“So you are those travelers everyone has been speaking of…” She opened the door wider, “Come in. I will tell you all I know.”  
  
Upon coming inside, she led them to her living room. The house looked like it hadn’t been touched in a month. Dust coated the surface of most areas, and the place smelled of unwashed laundry. They reached the living room and she sat down on the couch, motioning them to join her.  
  
“The story I have to tell is not a pretty one. But it’s all I know. I moved here some time ago with my only son Kevin. He was a good boy, always looking after me after his father passed away. A few months ago the Dark Lord started visiting, saying our town had not paid their taxes, and started demanding gold compensation for the kingdom. The sum he was asking for, to my knowledge, was far too much for any of us to be able to afford. Eventually, they started taking people…”   
  
At this point, Ms. Buchan started to break down as tears formed in her eyes.   
  
“Andrew, who was his best friend. Sally down the street. And then eventually they came for my Kevin. Kevin tried to plead with them.. Telling them that he was all I had. That I couldn’t run this house without his help. They didn’t listen. They grabbed him and.. they threw him on to the wagon after using some dark magic on him… I never saw him again.. That was a month ago. I just.. I don’t know what to do.”  
  
Jesse and John listened to her story, a sad expression on their faces. John then spoke up,  
  
“Did you see which way the wagon went? Or how many people were with the Dark Lord when he came for them?”  
  
The woman thought carefully trying to remember.   
  
“They headed west, up into the forest. There was 5 people with him when they came for Kevin. One of them had dark brown hair, one of them had red hair and then there were 3 others who I couldn’t see because they had cloaks over them selves. That is all I know…”  
  
Jesse looked at her with a sympathetic gaze and said to her softly,   
  
“Don’t worry. I promise you we will free your son, and his friends. The Dark Lord will not win against us.. Mark my words.”  
  
Tears falling from her eyes, Ms. Buchan pulled Jesse into a hug, no words to be spoken. She pulled back and smiled the first smile they ever saw her give.  
  
“I’ll.. I’ll hope. I’ll hold you to that. You are the only hope I have. Thank you.”  
  
John simply replied while standing to his feet, “No, thank you. This information will be most valuable to us.”  
  
Jesse stood up him self, and Ms. Buchan led them to the door. She gave them one last hug before they departed her house, and with a sidelong glance, they took off down the hill back to Aleena’s.  
  
“Well.. we know where we’re headed next I guess.” Jesse replied to John. John was just walking quietly, thinking to him self.  
  
 _A grieving mother… I can only imagine how Kevin must feel…. I wonder how Genna is doing… I hope her mother is alright…_  
  
A frown formed on Johns face and he looked like a bad mood just hit him like a truck. Jesse eyed his friend quietly, contemplating saying something before actually speaking up,  
  
“You ok buddy? You look like somethings on your mind..”  
  
John snapped out of his reverie and looked at Jesse with a sad smile,   
  
“It’s nothing.. I just.. I can imagine how Kevin must feel. I mean, with his mum in that state, worried sick about him… I can only hope that he is ok.. or that he will be ok at least…” Silence for a moment. Jesse then understood what was wrong.   
  
Instead of saying anything, Jesse stopped walking. John stopped and looked at Jesse wondering why he stopped, only to have Jesse pull him into a tight hug.  
  
“I know how it is bro… Well.. I don’t but.. I understand you are worried about Genna. She’s going through some things right now with her mom, and you wish you could be there for her, but you know you can’t.”  
  
Jesse hugged him a little tighter and continued,  
  
“This may be blunt, but.. look at it this way.. Genna will go to look after her mom. There is no question that will happen or not. The doctors will either be able to help her.. or… They wont be. But.. That is beyond anyone’s control. At least here you have the power to do something. When we beat this game, we will be able to reunite a family. We can make a difference here. It’s the best we can do. And as I always tell you.. I am here for you if you need me. We aren’t just a team. You’re my bro.”  
  
John just stood there hugging Jesse for a moment longer. He wasn’t sure at which point he started to cry, but he just hugged his best friend as the sun was starting to set. Jesse was right.. at least here he could make a difference. And by damnit he would.  
  
After a moment, he pulled back and looked at Jesse, a final tear slipping down his cheek.  
  
“I’m sorry about all this.. I don’t really know what came over me.. But thank you Jesse. You have no idea how much you mean to me as a friend.”  
  
Jesse couldn’t help but blush a little at the sentiment, and turned away hoping John wouldn’t notice. He said nothing as he turned to walk to Aleena’s, and the two of them fell into step beside one and other in a comfortable silence as they eventually reached the pub.  
  
 ~~ *******~~


	5. Ch5

As the pair entered Aleena’s for the third night in a row, they noticed that patrons were all chatting with one and other over a pint of ale, and it was actually quite busy that evening. Their hostess was standing in her usual spot behind the counter, pouring another glass for a waiting customer, and upon seeing them, Aleena greeted both Jesse and John with a smile.  
  
“Mojo! TB! Welcome back! I will be with ya in a moment.”  
  
The two had made it back to the bar at a decent hour this time, and the place smelled of freshly cooked meat and alcohol. After refilling the customers glass, Aleena walked up to the two of them and motioned for them to take a seat.  
  
“So what can I get ye far the night, lads? Some steak maybe? Did ya need a bed far tha evenin’?”  
  
Jesse, figuring that John was probably still feeling down, proceeded to speak for the both of them,  
  
“Steak sounds really good right now, Aleena… And bring us a large jug of ale to share - the strongest you have, if you please?”  
  
Aleena nodded to him and went into the back to get their food. John was just sitting quietly in the chair not saying much, the thoughts and worries still heavily on his mind. Jesse was hoping the booze would help ease some of the pain TB was going through, and maybe lighten his mood. When Aleena returned with their food, she poured them both two really large glasses of some golden colored, bitter smelling liquid and smiled at them sweetly before tending to other waiting customers.  
  
Jesse raised his mug in toast, and said to John,  
  
“Drink up buddy. Tonight’s all on me.”  
  
John, who was not really paying too much attention up until this point, looked up at Jesse and cracked a small smile on his lips, before lifting the glass in response and taking a long draw from the liquid. He noted that it tasted as bitter as it smelled, but had a small sweetness to it, and a smooth aftertaste of barley and spice. It was a _very_ good beer. Finally, TB spoke.  
  
“Thank you for this Jesse. The beer is actually really good…” He trailed off as his nose finally noticed the smell of the steak in front of him, and he put the glass down and immediately dug into the tempting morsel. Jesse, content that John was now talking and eating, began to chow down on his own steak, and before long, they both had their plates cleaned. As Aleena came and took the dishes from them, she turned and told them,  
  
“If ya need sleepin’ quarters far tha evenin’, you’re in luck tonight. I have another room with a set of bunk beds, or I can set the cot up in your usual room if ya like.”  
  
John looked at Jesse, and said nothing. Jesse, after looking at John expecting him to say something, turned to Aleena and replied,  
  
“Umm.. I’m not sure. Both of us having a proper bed for the night does sound nice.. however I have to admit I’ve grown attached to ‘our’ room.. We’ll think about it and tell you when it gets closer to midnight.”  
  
Aleena nodded at him as she turned away to refill another customers glass. John turned to Jesse and gave him another grateful smile,  
  
“Thanks.. I know I’ve been kind of quiet this evening. Just been thinking and I have a lot on my mind. I don’t really feel like making any decisions tonight.”  
  
Jesse tossed him a sympathetic look and replied,   
  
“I can imagine. But remember what I said back there. You’re my bro. We’ll figure this out together. Tomorrow is going to be a long day probably. Who knows what’s in that forest.. who we will meet.. Or what.”  
  
“It’s strange, you know. Different…” John’s face was unreadable, his eyes not really focused on anything. He continued, “I can feel each and everyone in this bar. Their life forces beat strongly.. some of them are highly intoxicated, and others are just casually buzzed from the booze they are all consuming…” He took another long swig of his own drink. “It’s.. just so different from anything I have ever experienced, Jesse. I can pick out who can use magic, and who does not, based off the amount of mana they have. It’s like this room is swimming with energies and I can feel each and every one of them… But they aren’t real. None of them are. ”  
  
Jesse sat and listened to John talk. He figured maybe it would help him feel better if he said what was on his mind. John’s then unfocused eyes turned and looked at him,  
  
“None of them are real, Jesse.. No one is.. well, except you of course. I miss Genna. I am worried about her, and I am worried we may never find a way out of this game… Every time something bad happens to her, all I can ever do is just sit by and watch, and I feel like a failure of a husband…”  
  
Jesse nodded and took a sip of his beer as John continued,   
  
“What you said earlier… About being able to make a difference here, in the lives of these people.. I know it’s crazy, but.. Even though they’re not real….I want to. I want to save Ms. Buchans son. I want to free Vindius from the Dark Lord’s absurd idea of 'taxing’. I want to be useful for a bloody change!” John waved his hand motioning to all the patrons in the bar, “All these people are just data in a stupid video game.. But they feel real Jesse.. Am I crazy for wanting to save them? For caring about them? When we leave here, this will probably be the last time we see Aleena, and I am actually going to miss her.. I just.. I don’t know how to feel.”  
  
After listening to John speak, Jesse placed his hand on John’s shoulder,  
  
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to miss Aleena as well.. But I know that we’ll be back. Ms. Buchan has her son and his friends that we need to save, so we do have a reason to return here at least once more… Although you are right, it could be a while. No, I don’t think you are crazy for getting attached to these people. I am as well. I may not be able to 'feel’ them the same way you can, but since leveling up my self, I have noticed a few changes in how I feel around people as well. I also can now pick out exactly who in this bar has weapon skills, based off of how they stand, and other little things, right down to the way they hold their steak knives. I suppose this knowledge comes with the leveling process. I should probably read more of the guide book about this.”  
  
John nodded and took a final long draw from his drink finishing it off.   
  
“So did you want to take the bunk bed room, or do you want us to stay in our usual room for the final night we’re here?”   
  
Jesse thought about it for a moment and replied,   
  
“Well, as much as I like our room, I do kind of want to sleep in a proper bed at least once more before we hit the road. I am not exactly sure how far it is 'til the next town, and that means it could be a while before we have good beds to sleep in after tonight. I like Aleena’s cot and all, but we should both probably be well rested for the trek ahead.”  
  
John wasn’t exactly sure why, but that answer- as much sense as it made - kind of disappointed him. But Jesse was right though. It would be best to get as best a sleep as they could. The forest looked like it went on for miles according to their map, so the chance they would have to make camp for the coming nights was almost imminent.  
  
The two discussed their plans for the coming days and how they would manage for food, camp, and other commodities they would need to pick up for the trip in the morning. Eventually midnight struck and Aleena came by to check on them.   
  
Most of the other patrons had already headed to bed, but she made sure the bunk bed room was available before coming over to ask again,   
  
“So have ye two made yer minds up yet?”  
  
Jesse nodded at her, “Yeah. We decided that as much as we like 'our’ room, we would like the bunk beds tonight. We have a long road ahead of us, and figured it would be best to try and get the most comfortable sleep we can before making our way into the forest tomorrow. ”  
  
Aleena frowned a little, sad to hear they were leaving town, “So I guess this is goodbye for a while then, lads? I wish ye a safe trip when ya head out tomarra.”  
  
John gratefully smiled to her,   
  
“Yeah, it will probably be a bit before we return, but I assure you we will be back to visit when we can. Thank you very much for taking us in, and being such a wonderful hostess to us. ”  
  
“Think nothing of it TB. Come now! Let me get your room ready far ye.”  
  
She then lit a candle and led them up the stairs and to a room on the right at the end of the hall, just across from their usual room.   
  
Upon walking inside, there were two tiny beds, neatly tucked one on top of the other, and a nightstand beside the bottom one. There was no window in this room, and it was a little smaller than their usual one, but they both had a place to sleep this time.   
  
Aleena placed the candle on the night stand, and paused at the door,  
  
“Have a good sleep ye two. Try not to–”  
  
“We know,” Jesse replied to her with a chuckle, “Don’t make too much noise.”  
  
Aleena chuckled back with a wink at Jesse and a quick glance at John, before leaving the room. Jesse mildly blushed as the memories from earlier that morning came to the surface. He had been trying to put the incident out of his mind, and concentrate on the game, but every so often something would remind him of the thoughts from the night prior, or his fantasy earlier that morning. This was one of those moments.   
  
Thankful for the candle light, Jesse turned to the bed and said,   
  
“I get the top bunk.”  
  
“Bite me.” John simply responded, and proceeded to go for the ladder.   
  
Jesse –frowning discontentedly–started towards the ladder him self, and with both of them trying to climb the thing simultaneously, the beds began to make a cracking noise from the obviously fragile wood frame.   
  
“Are we _really_ having this argument again?” Jesse asked. John simply replied,   
  
“We wouldn’t be if you just let me have the top.”  
  
The two of them continued to wrestle on the ladder as the frame of the beds began to crack more, under the weight of the two men.   
  
“You’re going to break the bed!” Jesse said, swatting his hands at TB, trying to push him down the ladder.  
  
“Then you let me have the top and we wont have a problem!” John retorted, pushing back and swatting Jesse’s hands away from him.   
  
They eventually both ended up on the top bunk at the same time, each of them try to push the other one off. A few more creaks and cracks, and sure enough, the top bed caved in on the bottom bunk and the two of them both let out a shocked yelp as the beds made a rather loud CRASH.  
  
As they sat there on the now broken 'single’ bed, John glared at Jesse,   
  
“ _Now_ look what you did! We have only one bed again!”  
  
As soon as those words were uttered, Aleena came through the door with a somewhat irritated face,   
  
“I thought I told ye two ta be qui– what on earth happened to the beds?”  
  
Embarrassment flashed on both of their faces.  
  
“He broke it!” The two of them replied to her in unison, followed by them both glaring angrily at each other. Aleena walked over to the now broken set of beds and looked at the frame silently.  
  
 _~Oh god, we are probably in so much shit right now..~_ Jesse thought to him self. Johns thoughts were pretty much the same thing.  
  
Aleena walked to the other side of the bed and looked at the side of the frame, and then turned to the two of them with, surprisingly, an apologetic sheepish look on her face.  
  
“I’m sorry ye two.. I didn’t realize this frame was unstable. Apparently, it looks as though it’s missin’ a screw on tha one side. I suppose ye two rough housin’ was far the best….The bed coulda come crashin’ down whilest ya two were sleepin’, an that wouldn’t have been good far the one on the bottom.. if ye get what I mean. Let me go get tha cot. I apologize far the inconvenience.”  
  
Before either of them could say anything more, Aleena left the room leaving the two men alone.  
  
Silence.  
  
“I get the bed.” Jesse said. John just sighed with a brief pause, and simply replied,   
  
“Fine. I suppose I had the bed last night after all..”  
  
Silence.  
  
Aleena eventually returned with the cot, and began to set it up. As she finished turning down the sheets, she looked at Jesse with that same apologetic face,  
  
“This night’s on the house. I’d hate ta think o’ what coulda happened to either of ye. This is no way to treat guests in my pub. I’m truly sorry far this.”  
  
Jesse, also feeling sheepish about the situation, replied to her, “Don’t worry about it too much. You didn’t know. Thank you for your concern though, and your wonderful hospitality. ”  
  
Aleena bowed her head in thanks, and left the room with a simple,   
  
“Goodnight, Mojo.. TB..”  
  
Again silence.  
  
The candle light flickered about on the night stand, casting shadows upon the walls of the tiny room, and John and Jesse silently looked at one and other for a brief moment before John sat down on the cot, and Jesse on the (now broken) bunk bed.  
  
As the two of them stripped down to their under clothes in silence, Jesse’s mind once again began to wander. The events of the day flashed through his mind. He remembered the worry he saw on John’s face at the moment he began to level up. He also remembered the joy in John’s eyes when John leveled up him self, and the adoration he felt for his friend upon doing so.  
  
John had looked absolutely amazing and powerful when he created that fireball, and flung it at the dried bush on the side of the road. His voice echoed in Jesse’s mind, _I’M THE FREAKING ARCH MAGE OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!_  
  
Jesse smiled at that thought.   
  
As John placed all his things beside the cot and finished undressing, he laid down on top of the blankets and proceeded to stare at the ceiling, watching the shadows dance across the wall.  
  
Jesse’s words played through his head from earlier,   
  
_This may be blunt, but.. look at it this way.. Genna will go to look after her mom. There is no question that will happen or not. The doctors will either be able to help her.. or… They wont be. But.. That is beyond anyone’s control…_  
  
John then looked over at Jesse. The blonde had a smile on his face as he appeared to be lost in thought as well.  
  
 _We can make a difference here. It’s the best we can do. And as I always tell you.. I am here for you if you need me. We aren’t just a team. You’re my bro!_  
  
John smiled at him, watching his friend from the corner of his eye. Jesse was right.. these people may not be real, but for the moment, they were real to them. He can make a difference here, and actually be of use for a change. The sooner they beat this game, the sooner he could get back to the real world. There isn’t anything else he can do, so he should do what he can: His best.   
  
Jesse, playing the days events over in his head, began to wonder about how the next day would play out. They had to go into a deep wooded area, and no doubt they would probably stumble upon more quests and enemies to fight. John was right. They should really be careful. Neither of them knows what happens if you die in the game, and when you get hurt, as proof of Jesse’s bruised ass, you do feel pain.   
  
Jesse then began to think of their new abilities from leveling up. John’s words from this evening played in his mind. Jesse’s smile faded.  
  
 _It’s strange, you know. Different…I can feel each and everyone in this bar. Their life forces beat strongly.. some of them are highly intoxicated, and others are just casually buzzed from the booze they are all consuming…_  
  
John’s sad face flashed in his head. Jesse started to frown.  
  
 _It’s.. just so different from anything I have ever experienced, Jesse. I can pick out who can use magic, and who does not, based off the amount of mana they have. It’s like this room is swimming with energies and I can feel each and every one of them… But they aren’t real. None of them are._  
  
John noticed Jesse’s smile fade, and continued thinking quietly to him self.   
  
_He really is bothered by being here just as much as me.. He’s just trying to do his best. I should be as well._  
  
John, noting to him self how cold and kind of lonely the cot was, began to consider something as memories from the previous morning played in his mind. Jesse pulled the covers over him self, and John rolled over to look at Jesse directly. Jesse turned his head and the two of them stared at one and other silently for a few long moments, before John spoke up.  
  
“Jesse…”   
  
..  
  
“Yes John?”  
  
..  
  
“Do.. Do you mind if I share the bed with you tonight?”  
  
As the last words left the brits mouth, Jesse began to blush. Thoughts from the previous night once again invaded his mind, and he was unsure how to respond. He didn’t know why John was asking, or if he should say no.  
  
Silence.  
  
John was about to roll over and try to sleep when Jesse finally responded,  
  
“I guess….” He paused. “I mean, I did say we should both be well rested for the morning.”  
  
John, thankful for the permission, slowly got up from the cot, and quietly sat down on the broken bunk bed beside Jesse, and proceeded to lay down, careful not to touch Jesse as he pulled the covers over him self.  
  
“Thank you. I’ve.. ..It’s just been a long day.”  
  
Jesse, laying with his back to John now and blushing quite furiously, replied,  
  
“I know it has. Don’t worry about it…”  
  
John closed his eyes.  
  
“..Bro?”  
  
John opened his eyes again.  
  
“..Yes Jesse?”  
  
“I’m sorry about the bed.”  
  
A moment of silence.  
  
“..Don’t worry about it.” John echoed Jesse’s words back.   
  
And that was the last thing they said before exhaustion claimed them both and they fell into a deep sleep.  
  
***  
  
The next morning came faster than they both had wanted. The two of them, backs pressed against one and other, awoke at roughly the same time. John was the first to sit up, and after glancing over at Jesse momentarily, he stood up off the bed, and proceeded to get his things packed for the road ahead. Jesse continued to lay in the bed, eyes closed trying to focus on the days tasks ahead of them, and hoping John would think he was still asleep, in fear of an awkward conversation about the previous nights events.   
  
After cleaning up the area, John stood up with his bags packed, and said to Jesse,   
  
“When you decide to actually get up, I’ll meet you downstairs for some breakfast. I’m going for a shower and I suggest you do the same. It could be a while before we have that luxury again, so we may as well take advantage while we can.”  
  
Jesse, realizing TB knew he was awake, opened a single eye to look at him, before yawning and nodding and closing them again. As he heard the footsteps heading towards the door, they abruptly stopped in front of it,  
  
“Oh and Jesse? About last night…” John continued,  
  
Jesse’s mind went back to John asking to share the bed. Unsure of what to say, he waited for John to continue.  
  
“..Thanks.” the brit finished quietly. He then walked out of the room, leaving Jesse alone to wonder what his friend was feeling.   
  
***  
  
John walked down the stairs to find Aleena cleaning one of the tables off. She turned to look at him and offered him a warm, yet sad smile.  
  
“Marnin’ TB. So I take et you’re leavin when Mojo gets up?”  
  
As John looked behind him at the stairs briefly, then back at Aleena, he replied to her,  
  
“We are, yes. I was actually wondering if I could grab a quick shower before we left, if that doesn’t trouble you too much. We aren’t sure how long we’re going to be away from town, so it would probably be a good idea.”  
  
Aleena nodded at him and said it would be ok for him to do so. She then asked,   
  
“Is Mojo sleepin’ in today? No sense in ye two leavin’ without a proper meal befar ya go.”  
  
“I believe he is getting a little extra rest, yeah.”  
  
“Good. I’ll get some eggs an’ ham on far ye. In the mean time, you go take that shower– Let me go turn on the pump.”  
  
She then walked off into the back, and John headed in the direction of the washroom. As he stepped in and closed the door behind him, he could feel Jesse’s energy fluctuating above him. He closed his eyes an concentrated on it, reveling in how it felt. A small smile curled on the corners of his lips.   
  
_It’s so odd. If anyone had asked me what a psychic meant by feeling people, I would have scoffed at them and told them I don’t believe in any of that mambo-jumbo. But these abilities of mine are like nothing I could even begin to explain. It’s like it taps into a part of my brain I didn’t know I had access to._  
  
John looked at him self in the mirror as his thoughts wandered.  
  
 _I wonder though.. When we beat the game and I am finally out of here, will I have forgotten what this feels like? At the moment it’s not like anything I could ever forget, but normal people can’t sense other people like this, so.. how will I be affected in the real world?_  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by the water in the shower turning on. After John reached in to feel the temperature, he then stripped down and stepped into the stream letting the warmth of the water run over his sweaty skin.  
  
 **– Meanwhile –**  
  
Jesse continued to lay in bed, the past few days running through his mind like a cheetah running after an antelope. Only four days had passed, but it was as if his whole life had been turned upside down. He was worried about John. The longer they were here, the more distraught his British friend seemed to become. Jesse was also becoming attached to the NPCs he had grown to get to know:  
  
Aleena in particular for obvious reasons, but also the Harris family. He wondered if they went back to their farm yet, and how they would manage if another rat colony came back to take their crops. He found him self worried for Ms. Buchan’s situation, but her story in particular really seemed to strike a chord with John. He seemed like he was genuinely worried about her and her son.   
…   
John…  
  
A light blush returned to Jesse’s cheeks as his thoughts moved to his best friend.  
  
That was something else as well.. The elephant in the room. He still hadn’t figured out what that was all about. Never mind reassessing what he thought he felt in high school. Those thoughts seemed to be resurfacing at the very worst time, and he still didn’t have enough time to figure out for him self what all these emotions meant.  
  
At first he thought he was pent up from not getting any in a long while, but after jacking off the other day, it didn’t really do anything to help. If anything, it only served to make it worse. Jesse found that he was thinking about him an awful lot more than the previous few days. One might even suggest this was a crush.  
  
 _Great. You have a crush on your best friend, who happens to be very strait and also very married. Good going brain._  
  
Jesse frowned and sat up in the bed with a creek. Whatever these emotions meant, he would have to put a lid on them. At least until he and John found a way out of this game anyway. He would take whatever time he needed to figure out his feelings then. No point in making things between the two of them awkward when they both had no idea how long they would be stuck here. Jesse then proceeded to gather up his things and meet John downstairs.  
  
He picked up his satchel with the gold, crimson bladed sword, and Travelers Guide and cleaned up his area as best as he could. He then walked towards the exit, casting one final glance at the room before closing the door behind him.  
  
 **–Meanwhile–**  
  
John stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. With a smile, he dried him self off and proceeded to wrap the towel around his head as he donned his clothes and headed back out into the dining area of the pub.  
  
All throughout the shower he was following Jesse’s energy. It was different from any of the NPCs in the area, and he wasn’t exactly sure why that was. Maybe it was because Jesse was the only real person here? John really didn’t know why but one thing was for sure: John could tell exactly where Jesse was in the building, and if he really concentrated, he could almost swear he could feel Jesse’s emotions.   
  
Clearing his mind of that thought, he stepped out into the main room just as Jesse was making his way down the stairs. The blonde had cast him a glance with a small smile, before turning to Aleena,  
  
“Good Morning Aleena! ”  
  
Aleena walked over to the American and gave him a big motherly hug,   
  
“G'marnin Mojo. I hope ye slept well. TB told me you boys were headin’ out today. Breakfast is in the oven and will be ready soon, so go get yer self cleaned up and it will be on the table when you get out of the shower. I left the pump on, so the water should still be runnin’.”  
  
Jesse nodded and thanked her before heading towards the washroom. As he approached TB who was just walking out, he smiled pausing momentarily. John unwrapped the towel from his head and tossed it to him as Jesse said,   
  
“When I get out, we should take a look at the map and plot our next course while we eat.”  
  
John nodded in agreement,  
  
“That sounds like a good idea. Hurry up in there. We don’t have much time before we have to head out, and although we aren’t on any particular time limit, I’d prefer to have a suitable camp set up before night falls and still have made some good progress.”  
  
Nodding back with a chuckle, Jesse stepped into the washroom and shut the door. John then turned to Aleena who was behind the bar, readying their breakfast. He walked over to her and sat down in his usual spot.  
  
“You know, I’m going to miss this place, yeah? You’ve been a very gracious host to us. How may we be able to repay your kindness Aleena?”  
  
Shaking her head and waving her hand at him, she simply replied,   
  
“No need TB. It’s my pleasure. Ye two have been wonderful guests, and I know without a shadow of doubt ye will set things right in our humble little town of Vindius. If anything, what with me giving ye both an unsafe bed set to sleep last night, it should really be me who apologizes to ye. No hard feelin’s about et, ye both have been very kind to an old gal like me.”  
  
John smiled at her warmly,   
  
“You really are too kind. We will come back to visit again very soon. I promise.”  
  
“Oh, befar ye both head out– while it’s on my mind, I wanted to tell ye. Ye two had mentioned at some point that ya would be headin’ towards the Alumawyn Woods. Take care when you’re there. It’s a dangerous forest with many a beast that comes out at night. I suggest hitting up the armorers down the street. Brogan should equip ye with some gear suitable far yer journey.”  
  
Grateful for the information, John bowed his head in thanks with a large smile at Aleena, and realizing that this would probably be the last conversation they would have, admitted to him self that although she was a simple NPC, he was really going to miss her… and her food.   
  
Shortly after, Jesse emerged from the washroom and joined John at the bar.   
  
“Well, I’m as ready as I can be I suppose. How much do we owe you for the food, Aleena?”  
  
She turned to Jesse with a smile, “Not a coin. I told ye your last night was on the house. Just promise me ye two will come back to visit some time, and we’ll call et a deal, alright?”  
  
“Fine by me.” Jesse replied with a large grin. He then bent over, went into his pack and pulled out the map. As Aleena went into the back to grab them their last breakfast, John turned to the map and the two of them plotted the best course to get to the next town.  
  
“It looks like it could take a few days to get through the woods. If we can reach widows point–here,” John pointed to a spot on the map, “–it looks like we would have a safe enough place to rest for the night.. Provided there are no monsters or demons that come after us. Everyone tells us it’s dangerous to be out at night. We may need to keep watch while the other sleeps.”  
  
Jesse nodded in agreement,   
  
“We should probably pick up some food and camp supplies as well before we leave town.”  
  
John nodded and said, “Aleena actually told me of an armorer who can get us some better gear for our trek. His name is Brogan.”  
  
As she emerged from the back with their plates of food, the innkeeper in question chimed in, “That’s right. Tell him I sent ye. He should give ye a suitable discount.”  
  
John and Jesse both smiled in thanks and continued to gaze at the map as they ate. Quickly, the two of them finished up their meal and packed the rest of their stuff up. With a sad smile, they left the pub, both giving Aleena a big hug before leaving.  
  
“Don’t be strangers now.” She said with a final farewell, and at that, they were on their way.  
  
The sky was clear with not a cloud, and the sun was warm and bright. Taking a moment to enjoy the weather, John closed his eyes as they got to the side of the road where they had obtained their first quest. The sign was still there, but the ad was gone. Jesse figured the Harris’ must have returned to their farm in the east, and he smiled at the memory of their story.  
  
“It’s a nice day…” John said as he opened his eyes again and looked at Jesse with, probably the calmest smile the American had seen on his British friend since arriving.  
  
“It is.” Jesse agreed.  
  
Another brief moment passed, then John raised his hand to his eyes, shielding the glare of the sun,  
  
“We should probably get a move on, then. I think Aleena said the shop was on the eastern part of the town, just by the edge.”  
  
“Lead the way.”   
  
And the two of them fell into step beside one and other as they headed east. Along the way, Jesse noticed something important and stopped walking. John turned around to see what it was Jesse was looking at.  
  
“Hey look! It’s a bakery. This looks like a good place to buy some rations for us to eat when we get hungry.”  
  
“Provided you don’t eat them all.” John said with a chuckle.  
  
“Hey! I’m not that much of a fatass. I’d just rather not starve, thank you.” Jesse retorted back.  
  
“And that means complaining about being hungry every three or four hours I guess?”  
  
Jesse shrugged.  
  
“A man needs energy.”  
  
John just chuckled and walked inside, quickly followed by Jesse.  
  
Upon entering, the place smelled of cinnamon and ginger. There was warm bread cooling on the shelf, and freshly baked muffins and other foodstuffs littered about the place. The smell was making Jesse’s mouth water.  
  
A woman came out from the back to greet them.  
  
“Hello. Welcome to Vindius Bakery, what can I get you two?”  
  
As they looked over her breads, John decided on a loaf of spice bread and two dozen cornmeal muffins, and Jesse selected two loaves of cinnamon bread and a dozen blueberry muffins, and after paying, the two of them placed the food into their pack.  
  
Leaving the shop, they continued east until they found the Blacksmiths.   
  
“This must be the place.” John said.   
  
Jesse pulled out his red bladed sword. His design was different than TBs, looking more like a short katana, where as Johns looked like a large dagger that something a rogue from WoW would use.  
  
“You think he is going to upgrade these?”  
  
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. We are only level two, and though we feel a lot stronger than when we first got here, I can guarantee there are beings far more powerful than anything we can comprehend at this moment in time. If I learned anything about this game, it’s that it keeps surprising me again and again. I’d like for those surprises to remain good ones.”  
  
Jesse nodded at John. He was right. Better to be safe than sorry, and after all, Aleena did recommend that they visit here before they hit the forest, so this Brogan person must be useful to them.  
  
The two of them walked into the shop to see a rather large burley man hammering away at an anvil.  
  
“Hello! Are you Brogan?” John asked.   
  
The burley man smiled at them, and put down his red hot sword and the hammer in his right hand and walked over.  
  
“Aye. What can I do for ye?”  
  
John smiled at the man who was towering over him,  
  
“Aleena sent us. We’re heading to the Alumawyn Woods and she said you’d have some things that would be of use to us.”  
  
The burley man chuckled heartily and nodded at the two of them.  
  
“Ah yes, Aleena. Fine woman, she is. Pours a nice mug of beer. Yeah I suppose I could give ya something for your travels. It’s dangerous in that forest. Let me see your swords.”  
  
Jesse and John proceeded to hand the crimson blades over to the man who took a good look at them before returning them to the duo with a surprised look.  
  
“I’ve never seen that ore before. What are they made of? Looks like some kind of red crystal.. I can’t temper those blade for ya sadly. However, I can upgrade your armor..”  
  
Brogan looked at John and continued, “You’re wearing a worn leather shoulder pad. I reckon I can get ya a nicer steel one, that isn’t too heavy for ya. Judgin’ by yer stance, I’d say ye were a wizard by profession, am I right?”  
  
John nodded, impressed he was able to tell so soon. But then again, it made sense.. he could tell who could use magic from the mana and energies he felt off of people, and Jesse had mentioned about being able to detect a person who was adept with blades based off of how they stood as well as held a steak knife.  
  
“Since you are a magic user, the lighter the better I guess. Let me see what I have…”   
  
He then turned to Jesse and looked him up and down,   
  
“Oh and you’re a swordsman. I might have another blade that could be of use to you. My leather worker had just finished crafting some new boots, so I could maybe outfit you with a pare of those as well..”  
  
He turned his attention back to John and continued,   
  
“.. And the shop next to us sells lighter clothes like robes.. The two of you look like you could use some new ones, so while I finish fitting the shoulder piece to your size, you can head next door and pick out something to wear.”   
  
John nodded at the man,   
  
“Thanks. It’s much appreciated.”  
  
Brogan then had TB stand still as he measured his shoulder, and after a few hums and ha’s, he sent the two of them off to the shop next door for some clothes.  
  
A young man with red hair and round glasses greeted them at the door, and commented on John’s ripped purple tunic.   
  
“It’s ripped! Let me get you a new one!”   
  
Before John could even get a word out, the boy flew to the back of the store, and right back to him carrying the aforementioned item, identical to the one he was wearing, except brand new.   
  
“Th..Thanks?” John said, slightly unsure of what to think of the boy. Jesse chuckled to him self as the kid then looked Jesse up and down before saying to him,  
  
You look like you need gloves. Here, let me get you some!“  
  
The kid whipped past the two of them and grabbed a pare of leather gloves that looked to be about the same size as Jesse’s hands. Nodding at them with an overly large grin, the kid then said,   
  
"That will be 40 gold pieces!”  
  
Jesse looked at John, shocked. The gear was expensive, but he figured they would get more on their way, so reluctantly, the two of them agreed to pay. Upon leaving the shop, right in the corner of John’s eye however, he spotted something.  
  
A shiny brand new _Top Hat_.  
  
Jesse was just about out the door when John paused and said to the kid,   
  
“How much for that hat over there?”  
  
Jesse turned around, surprised and annoyed that TB wanted to buy more from this cheapskate, when he saw what it was John wanted. Rolling his eyes, he said,   
  
“Come on John, we don’t have too much time and I think your armor is ready.”  
  
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Jesse, I’ll be right out.”  
  
The kid went to the top had, looked it over and then looked at John.  
  
“This hat? 60 gold.”  
  
“What?!” said Jesse.  
  
“Deal.” said John  
  
“WHAT?!” Jesse exclaimed.  
  
The kid then brought the hat over to John, who proceeded to hand over almost half of their money.  
  
Walking out of the place, clothes in hand, Jesse sighed irritably at John.  
  
“We should be saving our gold. Why did you have to go and have us spend 100 of it on that swindling cheapskate?”  
  
John, placing the top hat on his head, turned to Jesse.  
  
“Simple. I wanted it.”  
  
Jesse rolled his eyes at John,   
  
“But we didn’t need it.”  
  
“Yes I did. I can not go without my hat. You of all people should know this, Jesse.”  
  
Jesse, knowing when the cynical brit had his mind stuck on something, just sighed and said nothing. There was no winning this argument. No one comes between Totalbiscuit and his top hat. He cast him a sidelong glance. John had a smile on his face that said he was on top of the world, and Jesse almost swore he saw a twinkle in his eyes. John was actually really hansom with it. A light blush rose to the blondes cheeks.   
  
Picking up on Jesse’s energy change, John glanced at Jesse only to see the American walking into the armory ahead of him.   
  
_That was odd.._  
  
 _Perhaps he’s just miffed about my purchase. Or maybe his attention is on his new sword.. I think I should read that guide book a little more. Maybe it can explain these energies and what they mean a little better._  
  
Thinking to him self quietly, he followed his companion inside. Brogan outfitted the shoulder piece to John, and gave them both new boots. After paying him yet another 10 gold, the two of them finally were able to start on the road to the forest, and in quiet contemplation, John and Jesse made their way down the path.  
  
As they were walking, John had been focusing on Jesse with almost all of his spare energy. He wanted to understand what these fluctuations meant, but figured it would be wrong to ask aloud. Deep down, he knew a part of him was breaching Jesse’s privacy by trying to read into his emotions, but at the same time, John wanted to understand his powers. It might mean the difference between detecting an ambush or being killed.   
  
Jesse on the other hand, was going over his feelings for John. He had already established that he had a crush. That was easy enough. But when had it started? Was he always bisexual? Or is the reason he’s crushing on John simply because of the game? John was the only other real person here, so maybe the reason for this was because of that? Jesse continued his mental tangent, unaware that John was reading each and every thought change.   
  
_His energy is really tense.. almost nervous. But then it changes and seems more fluid. Then it tenses up again. I wonder what he’s thinking about…_   
  
Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to break the silence.  
  
“….Jesse?…” John started.  
  
“Hmm?” he replied.  
  
“You’re unusually quiet.. what’s on your mind?”  
  
Jesse’s energies tensed up and went almost all over the place when he was asked.  
  
“Umm.. Just stuff. Thinking about what we might encounter. How long it might take us to get through the forest. You know.. stuff.”  
  
That was a lie. John could tell as much. Instead of calling his bluff though, John figured he would let it be.   
  
_I shouldn’t really be doing this.. these are Jesse’s private thoughts. If he ever found out, he might not trust me anymore.. I don’t want that._  
  
“What about you?” Jesse asked back, “what'chu thinking about?”  
  
’“Stuff.” John echoed back, “Just wondering when I’ll get home. If Genna is doing ok. Wondering how her mum is. Just stuff.”  
  
Jesse nodded, and gave John a small sad smile.   
  
_He really is worried about me._  
  
“Don’t worry bro. We’ll find a way out of here. I promise you, if it’s the last promise I ever make, I will get you out of here and you wont ever have to play another game with me ever again.”  
  
John chuckled,   
  
“Don’t say that. I like playing games with you Jesse. Without you, I’d have no one to insult.”  
  
“Gee thanks.” Jesse said, rolling his eyes,  
  
John continued to chuckle,   
  
“My pleasure.”  
  
And at that, the two of them resumed the comfortable silence.   
  
*********


	6. Ch6

The pare had been walking for about an hour along the path, as the trees became slightly taller and more dense the farther along they went. Eventually the sky became partially obstructed by their branches, and the road beneath their feet had become less clearly laid out.  
  
Eventually John broke the silence,   
  
“Looks like it’s safe to say we’re heading in the right direction. Best to keep our guard up, since our view distance is reduced by all these trees…”   
  
Jesse nodded, grinning and opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, John added, “And if you dare make an FOV slider joke, I’m going to kick your ass.”  
  
Jesse closed his mouth and just chuckled.  
  
As the two had reached a fork in the road, Jesse pulled out his map. Walking with it over to John, he said with a slightly worried tone,  
  
“I don’t think we’ll be getting to Widows Point by tonight John… If my map is right, then the fork in front of us is this one here–” Tapping the map with his finger, “– and by the looks of things.. It’s going to be nightfall very soon.”  
  
John paused a moment to look at the sky, then nodded in agreement to Jesse.  
  
“I see what you mean. With the gradual reduction of light due to the branches becoming more dense, I didn’t realize how late it was getting. Not gonna lie.. this worries me a tad.”  
  
Wandering off to the left fork a few feet up while John continued to look at the map, Jesse returned back to the fork and said,   
  
“I think we should concentrate on finding a safe place to make camp for the night.”  
  
Agreeing, John added,  
  
“Yeah. We should take the left fork. There should be a small clearing about a mile ahead. We can set up camp there.”  
  
And with that, the two of them headed left. As they walked, John was concentrating on the map, and Jesse was reading the travelers guide looking for tips on how to survive their first night in the wild. The quickly approaching twilight had them both worried, but they eventually made it to the small clearing and John put away the map, leaning down into his satchel, digging around.  
  
“We should start on making a shelter. You’re the one with the new shiny sword - go cut down some trees or something. Get us some lumber. I’ll look around to see if I can’t find something to fasten them together with.”  
  
Jesse frowned and replied,   
  
“It’s not like this sword is a saw. How the hell am I supposed to chop down a tree?”  
  
John simply looked up from his pack briefly,   
  
“I’m not the one who specializes in blades. Don’t ask me. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Go on now. Chop chop. That sun’s not gonna stay in the sky forever.”  
  
Jesse just tossed John a look while grabbing his new sword, grumbling to him self “ _Chop chop_ he says. Har har very funny.” and wandered off into the thicker wooded area outside the clearing. John, chuckling at his terrible pun, continued digging through the bag until he happened upon some rope and a note attached to it.  
  
 _ **“I figured this might come in handy for ya. You two be safe on your journey, and I thank you for all you have done for me and the town. Enjoy your shower TB, and may this small surprise help you on your way. Much love,  
\- Aleena”**_  
  
John flashed back to when he went for his shower earlier that day. Thats right– he left his bags at the bar while he got washed up. She must have slipped this in his pack while he was in the washroom. John smiled. _Thanks Aleena.. We’ll be back to visit for sure._  
  
With that taken care of, the Brit then started on digging a hole for a fire pit.  
  
Meanwhile, Jesse wandered a little farther off into the forest, but not too far that he lost sight of where the camp would be. Holding his new blade, he tried to think of a way to chop down some of the surrounding trees. Most of them were too big to be able to lug back to the clearing, and the smaller ones would be useless for making anything durable enough to last the night were it to become really windy, or worse, rain.  
  
Pausing momentarily, Jesse thought carefully.  
  
“Hmm.. What should I do?”  
  
Until he spotted just off to the left of him, a patch of smaller pine trees. Grinning, he wandered over to them and gripped his blade a little tighter. Stopping for a minute, he thought to him self,   
  
“Well I found some wood. How the hell am I supposed to cut it down?”  
  
After thinking about it, it dawned on him. This wasn’t real life. He had abilities that he could use to cut monsters clean in half. Surly those abilities would allow him to chop a tree without damaging the sharpness of his new weapon. With renewed confidence, he raised his sword and concentrated. The blade turned that familiar red color. Yes, this would work! He then slashed horizontally, the red blade all but a blur as the tree chopped clean in half, and proceeded to fall away from him to the ground with a audible ‘THUD’.   
  
Smiling, Jesse repeated the process on all the other trees in the patch. Eventually, he had a good 30 or 40 long logs of pine. Turning to the clearing, he saw smoke billowing up from the tips of the trees in the distance. John must have started a fire. Now the question was, How the hell was he going to lug these some 40 logs of pine to the clearing?  
  
Sunset was fast approaching, and with it, the dangers of the night time that everyone warned the duo about. He had to act quick if he wanted to have a safe place to sleep. Bending over, Jesse attempted to pick one of the logs up. Much to his surprise, the log was not that heavy!  
  
“I guess with my increased level, I have increased strength. That must explain why I can chop the damn things down with this dinky blade.”   
  
The blade wasn’t actually dinky per say, but in comparison to the trees he had chopped it was tiny. Balancing a couple logs on each shoulder, Jesse made his way back to the clearing to see John kneeling over a fire, with a long stick in the ground and what appeared to be a dead and shaved rabbit on the spit, cooking.  
  
“Well well, look who’s back. Did you get the lumbe–Oh wow. I guess you did!” Amazed by the apparent strength of his American friend, John watched as Jesse placed the somewhat large logs down in a pile about 10 feet from the Brit and continue back out into the forest, pausing momentarily to smile at John and say,   
  
“I like this game. It makes me feel all manly and strong.”  
  
John just chuckled as Jesse continued back into the woods. All the while that Jesse had been away gathering wood, he had managed to finish digging his fire pit. Without a match, he at first was worried that he might have to rub two sticks together to get fire. Before getting up though, he noticed he could still feel Jesse, who’s energy shifted slightly in frustration, and the thought dawned on him.  
  
He could create fire with his magic.   
  
How the hell could he forget about that? Smiling, he wandered to the edge of the clearing and gathered some twigs and dried grass and brought them back to the hole in the ground, and proceeded to place them inside. He then threw a small fireball at the offending items, igniting them in a blaze of warm and toasty glory.   
  
He then started gathering large leaves that they could use to cover the soon to be made shelter, and as he was gathering supplies, he managed to get his hands on a wandering rabbit. Upon killing it, it exploded into data particles, leaving behind a cleanly shaved meat carcass. TB then made a spit out of a larger stick that he had planned on using to fuel the fire, and placed the meat on the spit and proceeded to wait for Jesse to return with the wood.  
  
Now he just had to wait for Jesse to bring all of it back.   
  
Once again, Jesse returned and placed the wood onto the pile, heading back out into the forest to get the rest. The sun had finally set, and the remaining orange sky was slowly turning a darker purple color as night descended upon the woods. Eventually, all 40 logs were neatly placed in a pile on the ground, and the twilight that had set in was starting to darken as the first stars of the eve began to come out.  
  
“We have to work quickly. Help me lift these into a frame. Do you have anything to tie it down?” Jesse asked.  
  
John held up the rope with a smile, while walking over to Jesse and starting to tie the logs down.   
  
“Courtesy of Aleena.” He simply replied, to which Jesse smiled a warm smile,   
  
“We’ll have to replay her somehow.”  
  
“I agree.”  
  
After about ten minutes, the shelter was finally built. The moon had eventually made it’s appearance, and the forest was getting darker and darker, the only light coming from the blazing fire that John had built. The two of them went to sit next to it, pulling out some of their bread, purchased earlier, and eating the fresh rabbit John had cooked.  
  
John looked up into the sky with a smile,   
  
“You know… It’s not so bad really, now that you think about it.”  
  
Jesse looked over at John, taking a bite out of his bread,   
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
John continued to look at the sky, the comfortable smile still on his lips, and his voice was calm and almost happy sounding,  
  
“This. All of this around us. The sky is a beautiful shade of navy blue, and the stars –what we can see of them anyways– shine like little guiding points…” He took a deep breath and turned his eyes to focus on Jesse, the smile never leaving his face, “The air smells fresh and mildly of pine.. I always enjoyed camping as a kid… and I don’t really get the chance to do that now as an adult. I guess.. I’m getting used to this. It’s easy to forget that this is a video game. A lot of me just wants to think of this right now, as a camping trip out in the wilderness with my best friend. And I am enjoying that. You know.. If I could have been doing this with anyone, I’d rather it was you Jesse.”  
  
Jesse smiled back at John, a light blush dawning his cheeks at the sentiment.   
  
“Then think of it like that. I believe I even said once, 'I’d rather be down in a hole with you, than anywhere else really.’. I was joking at the time, but you could say I feel the same as you do. Don’t hate me for saying it but… This game is actually kind of fun.”  
  
John simply smiled at Jesse and said nothing, instead choosing to take a bite out of his bread.  
  
A brief silence passed before John finally spoke.  
  
“I think I hear things wandering around the forest.. They might be waiting for us to head to bed. So who do you want to take first watch?”  
  
Jesse tossed the last piece of his bread into his mouth before replying,   
  
“I can if you like. I don’t feel particularly tired right now anyways, so it may be a good idea to make use of that while you rest up. I’ll wake you in about four hours and we’ll trade off, alright?”  
  
“That sounds like a good course of action.” John replied with a smile. He then rose to his feet, and wandered to his pack to get out a sleeping bag. After rolling it out, he curled underneath the shelter, and climbed in, zipping up the side.  
  
“Goodnight Jesse. Wake me if you sense anything strange.”  
  
Jesse nodded to his friend, and turned back to the fire.  
  
This was going to be a long night.  
  
***  
  
After closing his eyes, John had began to dream. These dreams were different than normal ones though. They were very real, almost as if he was actually out of the game finally.  
  
He saw images of Genna crying over her mother in the hospital bed, but even though he was there, they could not see him.  
  
Genna turned to the nurse, “How.. How much longer does she have?”  
  
The nurse gave her a sad look and replied, “Not much longer. Brain tumors, when undetected, can cause a lot of cerebral damage and without early treatment, often leave the victim a vegetable.. We don’t know how much longer she has Mrs. Bain. I’m sorry…”  
  
John ran to his wife, but when he went to hug her, his arms went clean through her. Shocked, John tried talking to her. Genna continued to sit there crying as John’s words fell on deaf ears,   
  
“Don’t worry Luv, I’m here for you. Please don’t cry. Don’t be sad…”  
  
Just then, the Doctor walked into the room. He was a hansom looking man, with light brown hair and hazel colored eyes. As he walked in, he looked at Genna with an expression that John was sure he didn’t like,  
  
“Mrs. Bain.. I understand this must be hard for you. I assure you though, I am doing everything I can to save your mother.”  
  
Gen looked up at him, her eyes puffy and red,   
  
“Do.. do you think you can? ”  
  
The brown haired man gave her a sad smile, but something seemed off about it. John decided he didn’t like this man at all.  
  
“I’m not sure, but I am going to continue to try. In the mean while.. I think you look like you could use a drink. Would you like to come into my office to sit and chat? It’s been a long day for you.”  
  
“Don’t do it Gen… I don’t trust him. I don’t like how he looks at you.” John said to her. But still his words could not be heard, as he was merely a ghost in the room.  
  
“I think I’d like that, yeah. Thank you Dr. Markus.. You’ve been really kind to me.”  
  
Dr. Markus smiled a sickening smile that John just could not stand. The Doctor began to walk towards his wife, John walked up to the man and rose his fist to punch him– yet when he did, his hand went clean through, making John stumble a little bit off balance before turning around and glowering at the Doctor. Dr. Markus extended his hand to Genna, who gratefully took it, and the two of them walked out of the room, leaving John alone.  
  
A single tear ran down John’s face as he stood there, unable to do or say anything.   
  
All of a sudden the world around him shifted into a more dream-like state, and he saw Mrs. Buchan crying on her couch over a picture of her son. Jesse’s words echoed in his head once again. “We can make a difference here.”  
  
John walked up to Mrs. Buchan, and she actually saw him. He extended his hand to her, and she took it, rising to her feet. John pulled her into a hug,   
  
“Don’t worry. I’ll save your son. I’ll save them all.”  
  
As she thanked him, the scene changed once again and John was standing in front of Jesse, who was looking at him with an expression he couldn’t quite place.  
  
“Jesse?” John asked.  
  
Jesse simply blushed and turned away, his words a mere whisper, almost like the wind.  
  
“Things are not always as they appear, John. The same goes for me. But I want you to know, I am always on your side, even if I don’t tell you everything. You mean more to me than you realize…”  
  
John smiled at Jesse,   
  
“You mean a lot more to me as well. I don’t think I could manage this game world without you.”  
  
Jesse turned back to look at John, and his expression was serious,   
  
“Well.. about that.. I guess I should elaborate.. There are some things I want to tell you, and if I don’t say them now, I probably never will… You see.. I think I—-”  
  
-_*_*_-  
  
—–“Psst, John.. wake up.. Wake up! I think I hear someone in the bushes… Besides, I’m pretty sure that was about four hours.”  
  
John grumbled as his dream came to an abrupt halt as he was being shaken awake by the same person who was about to tell him something important.  
  
“.. _*groan*_.. Jesse, what is it?” He said, more to the dream Jesse than the one waking him up.  
  
“I just told you!” Jesse said, as John was starting to come to.   
  
“Is.. _*yawn*_ is there trouble or something?” John said, as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Jesse’s voice began to shake a little,   
  
“Not sure, but it’s been about four hours, and I hear something rustling around on the edge of the clearing.. Oh… Oh boy.. this doesn’t look good…”  
  
Jesse’s words trailed off, as one by one, pares of yellow glowing eyes began popping up around the camp site, and a hushed growling noise began to get louder and louder.  
  
“..Wonderful…” John said, as he reached for his crimson blade, and climbed out of the shelter, striking a defensive pose.  
  
Jesse gripped the handle of his sword a little tighter and stood beside John, ready to take out whatever it was that decided to attack them. Slowly, the creatures came into the firelight.   
  
Gnolls.  
  
“That’s just great.. You ready Jesse?” John said, and raised his right hand, as he formed a fireball in his palm, ready to be thrown.  
  
The gnolls all attacked at once, as Jesse swung his sword at the offending creatures. The blade turned a glowing red, and managed to slash a few of them, injuring them. John threw fire balls at the ones farther back, driving some of them away. Occasionally, data particles would float towards the novice wizard, and TB found him self feeling a little stronger with each absorption.   
  
The mobs were certainly a lot stronger than even the goblins they had faced earlier, and it would probably take a while before the two of them would manage to kill them all off. Jesse began to take the offense, running at a gnoll, and first bashing it with the blunt of the sword, then slicing it vertically clean in half. Exp began to slowly build up with each creature they killed, as well as their gold, which was accumulating in a pile in front of their feet.  
  
With a laugh, mid slice, Jesse said to John,   
  
“I take back what I said earlier.. I guess.. ~~*slice*~~ –we could afford— ~~ _*Smash*_~~ – the top hat after all.”  
  
“I know.” John simply said with a chuckle.   
  
As time drew on, most of the gnolls were either evaporated, sliced, or burned to a crisp leaving only gold and experience points in their wake. But as John continued to use his mana, he found he was beginning to get dizzy.  
  
There were about 4 of them left, as the two players had been defending their camp for almost 30 minutes, and John collapsed to his knees, the world around him spinning.  
  
“You ok?” Jesse said, as he stepped in front of John to intercept a flying knife one of the mobs had thrown at the Brit, and John, doing his best to look up at his friend, said,   
  
“I.. I believe I am out of mana.. The world is spinning.. I’m afraid you’ll have to take care of the rest.”  
  
Jesse nodded, as he felt another level up approaching.  
  
“I can do that.. but I think we’re going to level up soon. Can you attack physically?”  
  
John tightened his grip on the red starter blade and nodded,  
  
“I’ll do my best.”  
  
“Then attack with me.” Jesse said, and pulled John to his feet, putting the Brits arm around his shoulder to steady him.  
  
The two of them then stood side by side, mirrored poses, their blades in the air, as the crimson swords began to glow in unison. John could sense when Jesse was about to swing, and mirrored his actions with his twin starter blade, taking care of the final mobs in one fell swoop.  
  
As they exploded into data, John and Jesse both began to glow their respective colors, as that familiar rush filled them up, and the two friends locked eyes, both with a giant smile on their faces.  
  
“Ding” They said to one and other in unison, chuckling as the remainder of the feelings began to subside.  
  
Jesse felt power in his arms and legs, and it was as if more sword techniques became known to him. He felt his strength grow and smiled at the sensations.  
  
John felt more of the world open up to him as he realized not only how to focus energies to heat things, but now how to cool them down by slowing those energies, and taking away the remaining heat from where he focused: Ice magic. He also began to understand how to repair the composition of things that had been damaged, by using mana to reverse what had been changed: Basic Healing  
  
Immediately as this came to him, he remembered the gnoll from earlier and turned to Jesse, who had a gash on his arm from the blade he deflected when John had hit the ground upon running out of mana. Grateful to his friend for defending him, John smiled, thinking of something he could do.  
  
“Jesse.. ” He started softly to his friend, who was still holding him up.   
  
Jesse was now _VERY_ aware how close in proximity he was to John, and blushed lightly upon hearing his name said with a tone of voice he never heard from the man before,  
  
“Y-Yes John?” he stuttered. John noticed the change in his friends energy, and he was a little confused as to why. Ignoring that, he grabbed Jesse’s arm and looked his friend in the eyes while laying his hand upon the bleeding gash.  
  
Jesse stared into John’s eyes, the blush on his cheeks only hidden by the darkness of the night, and the flame of the dimming fire, their faces only inches from one and other. John didn’t see the blush, but he felt the energies and didn’t know what to make of them.   
  
“Wh.. What are you doing?” He asked, his face burning hot.  
  
John’s touch was warm, and his eyes felt like they were boring into him. He almost didn’t notice until the sting on his arm began to subside, and the American realized John was healing him.  
  
Being so close to Jesse as his energy erratically flowed around him, TB could sense there was something Jesse wanted to say but couldn’t, which brought him back to the dream from earlier. _There are some things I want to tell you, and if I don’t say them now, I probably never will…_   
  
With the wound finally healed, John removed his hand from Jesse’s arm, and the brit continued what he was going to say earlier,   
  
“Try not to be so reckless next time–”   
  
Jesse, unable to speak, simply nodded. John removed his arm from around Jesse’s shoulder, and finally stood by him self, his mana being replenished enough to stand on his own. “–But thanks for saving me.”  
  
Jesse turned his back to John and simply replied,   
  
“Hey, what are friends for? I know if it were me, you would’ve done the same.”  
  
It was true. Jesse was the only other real person in this game, and he wouldn’t let his only partner get hurt. At least now they had some healing magic, so if one of them did end up getting hurt, there would be a way to recover in minimal time.   
  
John wandered ahead and sat down in front of the fire, throwing a few sticks on it to fuel it and make it grow a little larger.  
  
“I suppose it’s your turn to get some rest then? I’ll wake you at first light or if we get attacked again.”  
  
Jesse nodded and headed towards the shelter, “Ok. Goodnight John.” he said, and proceeded to crawl into the abandoned sleeping bag John had used earlier.  
  
John continued to sit in front of the fire, as his blonde companion managed to drift to sleep.  
  
Thinking about the energy fluctuation earlier, John shook his head.  
  
 _I guess he was just confused.. I mean, nobody has ever healed him before like that, so I am sure it was a little awkward for him. His energy is very erratic.. like hes always concerned about something. Jesse must be just as worried as I am about being stuck here. That’s probably what those energies mean.. I mean it seems to all add up._  
  
 _When I had asked him before what he was thinking about, they went all over the place. He told me he was thinking about our trek into the woods, but I could tell he was lying. They were also going nuts when I was in the shower this morning. He told me that I would never have to play a game with him ever again. So that must be the reason for these changes. I take back what I thought earlier about him never caring about anything at all… I just didn’t have the experience to know…_  
  
John then remembered the dream he had. He remembered his wife crying over her mother, and that Doctor who was putting moves on his wife. John frowned as he turned from the fire to look at Jesse. He was laying there, fast asleep.  
  
 _I hope you don’t have the same nightmares I had… God.. Genna, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there.._   
  
He then remembered when he was stuck in the UK, and the arguments and trust issues the two of them had during the four years they were separated. Fear began to build up in him.  
  
 _She wouldn’t do that.. would she? It was just a nightmare.. Once I finish this game, she will be waiting for me at home.. and maybe have some good news about her mum._  
  
His thoughts then turned back to Jesse again. What was it he wanted to say? John decided to dismiss it, figuring he would find out in time. For all he knew, that could have just been part of the dream as well. Right now, what they needed to do was concentrate on beating this game, and getting out of here. He would have to worry about other problems later.  
  
John turned back to the fire and threw another chunk of wood in.   
  
God he wanted morning to get here soon.  
  
***


	7. Ch7

As the night drew on, Jesse crawled into the sleeping bag, his mind still racing over the events that had just transpired. When he closed his eyes, they kept playing over and over again. During the battle, he hadn’t realized how close the two of them had been to one another until after the dust had settled, and they both had reached level three.  
  
It was John’s voice that had caught him off guard. “Jesse…” he had said, just so softly, his voice was almost like silk. Then he looked into the American’s eyes, and his stare was almost mesmerizing. He had laid his hand gently on Jesse’s arm. It had been warm and soft… And those eyes.. John’s big brown soulful eyes, staring into his….  
  
Jesse, reflecting on all this, eventually drifted into a light sleep.  
  
He continued to stare into John’s eyes, the blush on his cheeks getting hotter, “Wh.. What are you doing?”  
  
John gazed at Jesse, a light smile tugging on the sides of his lips, “Shhh.. Just relax.” He said with that same soft silky tone as he drew his head closer, their lips almost touching.  
  
“J..John?” Jesse stuttered, as his dark haired companion pressed his lips softly to his best friend’s. John pulled him closer and began to kiss him a little more forcefully as Jesse began to give in to his inner emotions, and started to kiss back with just as much force as the Brit displayed.  
  
He opened his mouth. Their tongues danced with fire and passion as John ran his hands through the blonde’s soft hair and Jesse traced little circles on TB’s back.  
  
He tasted of cinnamon and cardamom, with a slight undertone of burning pine (probably a result of the smoke from the logs gathered earlier) and his skin was so soft, more so than any woman Jesse had ever had the pleasure of touching. His kiss was like fire; warm and inviting, and Jesse could hardly believe any of this was happening.  
  
John ran his hand down Jesse’s chest, mimicking the light circles he was tracing on his back, until he reached his cock. Pulling back from the kiss to look at him, he licked his lips and grabbed it firmly. Jesse gasped at his boldness.  
  
“Oh God.. John…” Jesse moaned as the Brit began to pump him slowly, smiling almost evilly as Jesse remained a slave to the sensations his best friend was giving him. John then began to kiss Jesse’s neck, planting light pecks one by one, down his chest, towards his belly, until eventually he was kneeling in front of the American.  
  
Looking up at him with those beautiful dark eyes, he took it into his mouth. The blonde let out a gasp and his eyes drifted shut, as TB continued to tease and play with him mercilessly, his tongue running along the sides of Jesse’s aching cock, before coming back and sucking on his tip.  
  
“Please John..” Jesse begged; a mere whimper as waves of pleasure rolled over him.  
  
The Brit stopped what he was doing and chuckled a little, as he grabbed it again and slowly stood up, never letting Jesse’s —now terribly hard— cock go.  
  
“Please what, Jesse?” John asked  
  
Jesse opened his mouth to say something, but John took that opportunity to crush his lips back against Jesse’s wantonly.  
  
The world seemed to fall away and Jesse was surrounded by everything that was John. The sensations of his scent, taste, voice and touch were so powerful it was almost overwhelming. Everything he did to him screamed, _“I WANT YOU!”_  
  
As TB continued kissing Jesse, his hand still pumping the blondes cock, with his other hand he began to pull out his own and motioned for Jesse to take it. Cautiously, Jesse did, and he marveled at how soft it felt for being as rock-hard as it was. He had never touched another man before, much less played with one in this way, and he felt a little nervous, unsure of what to do.  
  
Pulling back from the kiss, Jesse looked down at John’s aching member in his hand, and he began to stroke it in time with John, so that they both received pleasure mutually.  
  
John closed his eyes and let the sensations wash over him, gasping out Jesse’s name quietly. Jesse smiled a deep, warm smile. Pressing his lips back against TB’s, he continued to taste and enjoy the feel of John’s tongue in his mouth, moaning into the kiss. He had questioned to himself endlessly about whether it was wrong or not to be feeling this way, but everything about this felt right.  
  
For the first time in a long while, he felt like he was truly home. As he pulled back from the kiss and looked into his friends eyes, Jesse spoke,  
  
“I didn’t realize you felt the same..”  
  
John returned Jesse’s smile and replied,  
  
“Sometimes it takes a while for us to figure out how we fee—-“  
  
****  
  
“Jesse… Jesse, it’s been four hours. I’m sorry to wake you but we have a long walk ahead of us, and I believe there is a stream about 7 miles from here according to the map, and I wouldn’t mind restocking our water supply. I think we should get going.”  
  
“Huh-whaa?” Jesse mumbled groggily from his sleep, as the world came crashing down around him. He remembered vaguely where he was, and that he probably needed to get up at first light but everything around him was so confusing.  
  
Only about half aware that what just transpired was a dream, Jesse opened his eyes to fuzzily see his British friend kneeling over him with what he guessed was a somewhat exhausted expression. Reaching for his glasses, he rubbed his eyes sitting up. Yep. A dream.  
  
”..Alright, I’m getting up…” He said, somewhat sadly.  
  
John walked back towards the dim fire that was almost completely out, and began to pack up his things. The extra gold from earlier was put away in the coin pocket and the travelers’ guide was placed into one of his main bags.  
  
Jesse, still reminiscing about his dream, silently rolled up the sleeping bag, occasionally stealing a longing glance at his friend.  
  
Friend.  
  
That word remained in the blonde’s head, and he cursed himself for his feelings. He was really becoming attached to John, and he was starting to hate himself for it.  
  
 _Why did these feeling have to come up now? John isn’t even bisexual, and he has a wife. **A wife!** Not only that, but she is going through a lot right now and it’s affecting him. He’s really worried about her, and here I am thinking about him like this.. Am I really that selfish? Dammit brain, why do you have to do these things to me?_  
  
All throughout his mental tangent, John silently read Jesse’s energies. By watching Jesse’s body language and feeling his energies at the same time, he had begun to learn what some of those energies represented. He could feel what he had learned to recognize as sad and angry emotions coming off of him now, and it was starting to really make the man worry. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jesse occasionally glancing at him, his energies feeling as if they were reaching for him. He was also becoming visibly more and more upset, and John couldn’t understand why this was.  
  
 _He’s thinking about something… Maybe he had a nightmare like the one I had.. God I hope not. The last thing we need are outside worries distracting us from our objective._  
  
John walked over to Jesse who was just finishing putting everything back into his pack, and he placed his hand on the American’s shoulder.  
  
“Are you ok? You look kind of down.”  
  
Jesse looked up at him, his expression hard to place.  
  
“I’ll be ok.. I just… ” He trailed off.   
  
“Bad dreams?” John supplied.  
  
“Something like that…”  
  
John looked at his friend, whose energies were now slowing and extended his hand, helping him up.  
  
“Don’t worry man. We’ll get out of here soon.” He said, trying to comfort Jesse.  
  
“But the game has only just started, John. We’re only level three.”  
  
A flock of birds flew up from some of the trees off in the distance as John turned around and started walking back towards his pack, replying,  
  
“True.. But is that really such a bad thing?”  
  
Jesse was quiet.  
  
John paused before continuing, “A very wise person taught me that it’s sometimes best not to worry about things that are out of your control. I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently…..”   
  
John turned around to look at Jesse, a small smile on his face, continuing, “…. and I’ve come to realize that although not everything in life can go your way, it’s important to make a difference and do your best with whatever you can.”  
  
Jesse stood there, looking at him quietly as he spoke.  
  
“For the time being here, I think I am going to try to enjoy myself. This game was touted as ‘The most realistic gaming experience ever’ and I think it lives up to that expectation, wouldn’t you say?”  
  
Jesse stared back at his companion, replying quietly,  
  
“I guess…”  
  
“So I am going to concentrate on playing the best gaming experience with my very best friend. We’ll worry about the real world later.”  
  
John offered him a genuine smile, and after a moment, Jesse smiled back.  
  
John was right. He shouldn’t worry about how he feels here. For all he knew, these feelings could just be a side effect of him being the only other human present in this game. When they beat the game and get back to the real world, everything would probably go back to the way things were before. Like one of those strange dreams where you make love to your best friend, but then you wake up and it doesn’t make sense because those feelings don’t carry over to when you’re awake, so you usually just ignore it.  
  
It really would be best to just ignore it for the duration of the game. John wouldn’t have to know - he could keep it to himself. Jerk off, if it got too bad.. Whatever he needed to do. He wasn’t hurting anything here, and as long as these feelings were kept to himself, everything would be ok.   
  
Standing and walking towards his dark haired companion, Jesse pulled out the map.  
  
“You’re right.. Thanks for the pep talk bro. So, where to?”  
  
John was a little taken off guard by the sudden change in mood from his friend, but figured his words must have helped. He glanced at his own map briefly before replying,  
  
“The stream looks to be off in that direction,” He said pointing, “About a few miles up. If we walk quickly, we should be able to get there before the sun fully rises. I know we’re both exhausted, and running on only four hours of sleep each, but if we clear a good distance of the forest today, we may be able to turn in a little earlier tonight and get a couple more hours of sleep between us.”  
  
Jesse nodded, “That would be good. I’m still really tired, so I’d hate to think of how you must feel right now.”  
  
“You have no idea.” John simply replied, and the two of them then continued forward through the dense woodland.  
  
All the while they walked, John nibbled on one of his cornmeal muffins. Eventually turning to Jesse, he commented,  
  
“You know, these aren’t too bad. I rather like cornmeal muffins, and they make for a good breakfast. The food in this game is really quite something.. Though I have to admit, I’m missing Aleena’s breakfast.”  
  
Jesse smiled at him, and pulled out a hunk of his own bread. Breakfast didn’t sound too bad at the moment.  
  
“I know what you mean, bro. What I wouldn’t give for some bacon and eggs right now.”  
  
As he bit down into it, his mind flashed back to his dream. The cinnamon flavor reminded him of John’s kiss, and he caught himself glancing at his companion occasionally, as he swallowed another bite.  
  
John, noticing the sudden energy fluctuation, wondered quietly what Jesse was thinking about. Much of the time, like now, Jesse was just too good at not showing emotion while his mind was wandering. John couldn’t seem to catch him with a corresponding expression on his face when some of these energies spiked, and as a result he still had no idea what they meant his friend was feeling.  
  
A few brief moments passed of him mulling over what it could be, when another thought entered the Brit’s mind: He was doing this a lot. These were Jesse’s private thoughts, but he couldn’t help but study his best friend, and constantly feel for his energies, be it absentmindedly like when Jesse was gathering lumber, or when the two of them were just casually talking like they were now.  
  
 _~I wonder why that is…_ He thought quietly to himself.   
  
Was it an involuntary thing? In any case, John had already decided that reading Jesse with the intent to figure him out was a breach of his friend’s privacy. He decided it was probably better to put it out of his mind and concentrate on what was going on around them instead, so he glanced down at his map, trying to make out where it would be best for them to set up camp again.  
  
“So how long do you figure it will be until we reach the next town?” Jesse asked, snapping John out of his thoughts.  
  
“A few days at least.. this forest looks absolutely enormous.”  
  
The leaves from fallen shrubbery crunched under the blonde’s feet and Jesse frowned with a sigh before replying,  
  
“I was afraid you’d say that…”  
  
John chuckled a little, “Yeah I know.. How _terrible_ it must be to be stuck alone in a forest with _me_ of all people. I wonder how you can bear it.”  
  
Jesse looked over at John with an incredulous smirk, playfully swatting at him,  
  
“You know that’s not what I meant.”  
  
John, ignoring that statement continued on, this time in a terrible American accent,  
  
“Oh god, _please_ let me beat the game soon so I can get away from John! This is just so terrible. _How do_ I manage to get stuck in these situations?”  
  
In response, Jesse grinned evilly at John and instead of retorting, grabbed the Brits beloved top hat and took off at a run, placing it on his head as he ran. John, mildly annoyed, but more amused by the situation than anything, chased after him laughing.  
  
“OY! GET BACK HERE WITH MY HAT!!”  
  
Jesse, laughing as he ran, proceeded to mimic John with an even more terrible British accent himself,  
  
“Oh _Noouuuu_! Moy Top hat! Whatever shall I _doo_ without it? Come back here foul man, and I shall deliver swift Justice, I must say!!”  
  
John raced after him laughing as Jesse continued to run. After a few moments though, his blonde friend got careless, tripped over a fallen branch and fell flat on his face. John eventually caught up and grabbed the hat from Jesse’s head, placing it back on his own.  
  
“That’s what you get for taking my hat.” John said with a satisfied smirk, walking past Jesse casually, “and if you dare take it again, I’ll end you.”  
  
Jesse, getting up and brushing the dirt off his shirt, just laughed and shook his head. He then fell into step beside John as they made it back to the main path. The two of them walked along, chatting casually until eventually they came to the stream.  
  
“Ah, here we are.” John said as he walked up to the water, pulling out his flask and dipping it into the running stream. Jesse, doing the same, placed the flask back into his bag. He then turned back to John, and smiled hopefully.  
  
“I guess this means we can take a slight break?”  
  
John, grinning back, nodded.  
  
“I don’t see why not. We have enough water for a few days at least now, as well as food, and I don’t think we have a reason to rush anywhere at the moment. We could take some time to level up a bit more before reaching the next town maybe… I was reading the guide book a little more, and it says at level five we get a secondary skill. I am not sure what that will be though but it’s worth a bit of grinding I’d say.”  
  
Grateful, Jesse yawned and leaned up against a nearby tree,  
  
“Alright, that sounds like a plan. If you don’t mind, I’m going to nap a little more. I’m still really tired.”  
  
In response, John just yawned as well, and sat down on the ground also leaning against a tree, closing his eyes.  
  
A few brief moments passed, and Jesse just stared at his British friend with an adoring smile thinking quietly,  
  
 _He doesn’t have to know. I’ll deal with whatever this is after we beat the game. Until then, I won’t berate myself about how I feel._  
  
***  
 **~ Meanwhile ~**  
***  
  
Mr. Sether paced outside of his Lord’s chambers nervously. He and another one of the Lord’s underlings had been following the two adventurers known as Mojo and TB for five days now, and had just witnessed them both reach level three. Although he had been told to return to his master after one week of observation, he had already given his report early once. The information was useful, but he worried about annoying his highness with further minor updates.  
  
Turning to leave, he heard a bellowing voice through the door.  
  
 _“Mr. Sether!”_  
  
Leaping to attention, the dark haired boy cautiously entered through the door and bowed before his master. Sitting on his throne, the Dark Lord looked at Sether with an evil smirk.  
  
“What is so important that you would pace outside of my chambers, believing foolishly that I would not sense your presence? Do you have anything of value to report to me?”  
  
Looking up in fear, Mr. Sether responded,  
  
“Y-Yes, m’lord. The two known as TB and Mojo have recently entered the Alumawyn Woods. My sources tell me that they are probably heading to Ebora City.. I should also mention that –yet again– they have gotten stronger. Darium had been keeping watch of them– as you had commanded– and told me that the weaker one, Mojo was keeping watch last evening, when a group of gnolls had come to attack them. Apparently, there were at least seventy of them. Darium expected that the Gnolls would overwhelm the two of them, but Mojo had woken up TB and together they had actually managed to dispatch the whole group.“  
  
The Dark Lord gazed at Sether with an unreadable expression. The only words out of his mouth were,   
  
"I see…”  
  
After the pause, Sether continued.  
  
“Er-Yes.. and well… Mojo had appeared to have gotten injured in the fight, but after they had clearly won, Darium apparently sensed a level one healing spell being cast. Most likely by TB, as he is the one with magical lineage according to our research.”  
  
The Dark one turned from Mr. Sether walking back towards his thrown and brought fourth his Orb of the Skies. The images of both Jesse and John appeared on it. They looked to be sleeping by a running stream and he chuckled to him self before turning around to look at his brown haired subordinate with a pleased smile.  
  
“Is that all you have to report then?”  
  
Sether bowed low and stuttered in fear,   
  
“Y-yes, m'lord.”  
  
“Good. Continue to watch them, but be careful. TB looks to be growing in his knowledge at a faster rate than I originally anticipated. They mustn’t know of your presence. We will take care of them in due time…. But for now, we will continue to watch. They have something I want, but do not have the means to go about taking it from them yet. I need them to become just a little stronger before I can make my move. Report to me in two days time and I will explain further. We will decide what our plan is then. Dismissed.”  
  
“Yes, Lord.”  
  
And with that, Mr. Sether exited the chamber.  
  
*****  
  
As the sun began to peak through the leaves of the trees, the chirping of birds stirred the blonde haired swordsman from his nap. This time, it had been a dreamless rest, as his mind was more focused on his fatigue than anything that had happened between him self and his British friend.   
  
As he opened his eyes, Jesse could see John standing on a log that was propped up on its end. He looked like he was trying to balance on one foot, while maintaining a ball of fire in his left hand, and what appeared to be a strangely glowing, blue crystalline substance in his right.  
  
Yawning with a stretch, Jesse sat up gently lifting his glasses to rub the sleep from his eyes, before putting them back in place. Standing, he wandered over to John, who had only just noticed he woke up.  
  
“Welcome back to the world of the living. I take it you had a good rest?” He said. His eyes were still closed, concentrating on his balance.  
  
Jesse grinned at John,  
  
“I feel a lot better now. What on earth are you doing?”  
  
“What’s it look like I’m doing? Training, obviously.”  
  
Opening his eyes, John looked at Jesse while still trying to maintain even energies in both of his palms. Jesse shook his head with a light chuckle and replied,   
  
“You do realize that this is a game, and that to get stronger we probably have to kill shit, right? I mean, that looks fun and all, but I doubt balancing on a hunk of wood while wielding fire balls is doing much of anything besides wasting your mana, dude.”  
  
Silently, TB noted that he could feel Jesse’s energies a lot more clearly than he had been able to before. He had been balancing on the log for what he guessed was an hour, and without even opening his eyes he could feel the energy change in his blonde haired friend when he awoke.  
  
Even now, Jesse’s stance as well as the look on his face –combined with the fluid pulsing he felt in the back of his mind– were indicating Jesse’s emotion to be humor or amusement of some sort. Although to be fair, without the extra sensing he probably could have figured that much out.   
  
It was clear to him that this method of energy management and focus training had helped him hone his sensory abilities a lot more. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it.   
  
He was on the fence about how okay it was to intrude on Jesse’s inner feelings, but decided to come to the conclusion that it was for research purposes, and could probably save them from an ambush or something. It may be a breach of his friend’s privacy, but he wasn’t hurting anything. Jesse didn’t need to know.   
  
After a brief pause, John responded simply with,   
  
“Just trust me.. It’s not a waste. I can feel improvements in my energy flow, and as such, I can focus more clearly while multitasking.”  
  
Jesse turned from John heading back towards his pack,  
  
“Whatever you say, broski…”  
  
He then proceeded to grab his red starter blade and began inspecting it for wear and tear. Concentrating on his sword and not looking at John, he continued while giving it a few test swings,  
  
“.. Well you have fun with your game of one man jenga…” Then looking at John with a grin, “..I’ll be off killing random things.”  
  
John proceeded to chuckle at that statement, and much to Jesse’s surprise, leaped into the air with a flip and landed clean in front of the American, striking a landing pose.  
  
“No, no–I think that’s a good idea, Jesse. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll join you.. I could use a break. Maybe gain some XP.”  
  
Jesse smiled,   
  
“Alright! Well, I have no idea where any hostile mobs might be, but maybe if we wander around, we can find some.”  
  
John closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling for any energies present in the area. The world around him had more clarity than he had felt previously, and he could detect some minor fluctuations about 200 feet to the east of where they were standing. He also noticed a slightly stronger blip in one of the trees to the south, but just as quickly as he picked it up, it vanished.   
  
That was odd.  
  
Opening his eyes, he turned to Jesse,  
  
“I can, umm, ..sense.. some weaker creatures to the east of us. Probably neutral animal mobs. They wont get us too much experience, but we should get some vendor items from them. Who knows.. Maybe we’ll attract some more dangerous mobs while we kill them. I also think I noticed something to the south, but I could just be imagining things.”  
  
Jesse nodded,   
  
“That sounds like a good place to start. I can’t feel for mana like you can, so you will have to tell me if any hostiles are heading in our direction. Hopefully we do manage to aggro something.. But if not, hey! It’s gold.”  
  
John recalled their conversation two nights ago, and how he explained about sensing mana. It wasn’t exactly the case here, but he didn’t have to tell Jesse that animal mobs had no mana. Well not these ones anyways.  
  
“Ok, lets get going then.” He said, and the two of them headed off to the east.  
  
As the two heroes were almost out of sight, up in the tree Darium sat with his cloak over him silently.  
  
 _Just a little more… Soon we will have what we need. Soon._  
  
***


	8. ch8

Through fire and ice, Slice and slash, the duo had spent most of the day grinding mobs. Upon heading east, they had found a small group of deer– about five of them– which subsequently fled after seeing the two heading in their direction.  
  
Jesse had began to chase after them, while John calmly stood back and started to cast a spell. The Brit had rose his hand to the sky as the air around it turned blue. The ground roughly 40 feet in front of the deer began to frost over, shrubbery wilting in it’s path. As the deer ran over the frost, their feet began to stick to it as ice started to climb up their legs, slowing them down.   
  
Jesse, finally catching up, lifted his red blade and with one fell swoop, took out the herd leaving only data particles in his wake. Upon the ground, laid 2 legs of venison. Not much for loot, but something for the two of them to eat later.  
  
Picking it up and placing the meat in his pack, Jesse turned to John.  
  
“Just great.. it’s like Arathi Highlands all over again. Ya kill ten deer, and only one of them drops the loot.”  
  
John chuckled in response.  
  
“Well I suppose it’s a good thing this isn’t a quest then.”  
  
At that moment John felt that familiar spike in energy again to the south, only this time it seemed a little closer. Just before he could get a lock on it, however– once again– it had vanished. At this point, John began to realize the two of them were probably being followed. Jesse, looking over at John, noticed the change in his buddies mood and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong.  
  
“Hey, is everything alri–”  
  
“Shhh… ” John cut him off. Walking closer to Jesse, he whispered to the American, “I think we’re being followed. Probably by that guy from a few days ago. Keep your guard up – I don’t think we’re very safe right now.”  
  
Jesse gripped the hilt of his blade a little tighter and nodded. A moment passed as the two of them stood, battle stances ready, waiting for whatever ambush awaited them. Soon enough, twelve rather large were-rats came barreling through the brush at the two of them.  
  
“Holy **SHIT!**!” Jesse exclaimed as he leaped out of the way, narrowly escaping their claws. Jesse pulled out his other blade. The were-rats continued to run at the two of them, growling and slashing angrily. “They’re fast!” Jesse said.  
  
“No need to tell me that!” John exclaimed back, dodging and ducking each of their attacks.  
  
The eyes of the beasts had a strange red glow that seemed almost unnatural compared to every other creature they had faced thus far. Throwing a fire ball at one of them, John yelled over to Jesse, who was now duel wielding both his steel sword and red blade to the best of his abilities.  
  
“ **Do you have any new skills, upon reaching level three? If you can get these guys off of me for a moment, I should be able to cast something to incapacitate them long enough to finish them off.”**  
  
Jesse ducked another swipe of their claws and yelled back,  
  
 **“I’ll think of something.”**  
  
Slashing his left blade at the six were-rats, trying to get them out of close range, he crossed both swords in front of him and at once they began to glow red. The remaining six beasts who originally were targeting John, immediately changed their focus and began to attack Jesse. Smiling, Jesse released the energy from within his blades at the oncoming mobs as they suddenly caught fire from the immense power. Strangely though, the fire didn’t seem to deter them in any way. They continued to attack Jesse relentlessly, who was doing all he could to block their teeth and claws while distracting them long enough for John to cast whatever spell he was going to do.  
  
John clasped both his palms together, and began to concentrate as hard as he could. He needed to think of a spell that would either stun them, or finish them off. As he felt the energies all around him heat up, the energy in his palms was ice cold. Opening his hands, the ice magic began to grow and with desperation, John focused the blast of frozen energy at the twelve mobs who were gathered around Jesse.  
  
The blast resonated a blindingly bright whiteish-blue color as it collided with the were-rats, the air around them going completely frigged, coating both of Jesse’s swords and lightly dusting the tip of his gloves with frost. The beasts were left as icicles, frozen in place and the two of them stared cautiously at their foes, unsure if it was safe to let their guard down.  
  
“Wow…” was all Jesse said. John smirked, tipping his hat to Jesse in vanity.  
  
“I guess that did the trick. Lets finish them off then, yeah?” The Brit said to Jesse, who nodded in agreement with a chuckle. At that, Jesse raised his blade to the sky, as John formed the largest, hottest fireball he could muster, and the two of them cleanly finished off the mobs, absorbing all the remaining data particles from their corpses.  
  
Off in the distance, yet another set of red eyes were watching. Everything was going according to plan. Darium smiled as he leaped from the tree and landed on the ground below silently. It would be a few days before Mojo and TB reached Ebora from the looks of things, and the duo didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get there.   
  
Thinking to him self, Darium noted that he had to be more careful. This was the second time TB had sensed him, and had he not mind controlled those were-rats to attack the two of them, his cover may have been blown. He hadn’t expected the were-rats to survive. No, Mojo and TB had proven to be more competent than to be defeated by mere creatures. It would take something a lot more powerful than that to take the two of them down. But he had orders, and the Dark Lord insisted the two remained alive for the time being. He would find out why soon enough. For now, he was to watch them, document their progress and report back to his majesty.   
  
The two of them appeared to be training. They would hunt down animals and hostile creatures around the forest to test their strength, and rest when they needed to. It was quite curious how they gained strength at the rate that they did.   
  
Darium continued to follow them from a distance, thinking. Maybe if he got closer, he could find out a bit more about them. That thought then gave him an idea…..  
  
****  
  
“I still can’t believe you froze those giant rat things rock solid like that. ” Jesse said, polishing down his blades. He had finally gotten the frost to thaw, and figured they needed a good buffing after a fight that intense. Using John’s old torn tunic as a rag, he ran the cloth up and down his crimson sword until it’s original shine returned.  
  
“I had to think quickly, and that was the only thing I could come up with. I used a lot of my mana in that shot too.. I’m just glad it worked.” John replied with a chuckle. He was still feeling a little dizzy, and was nibbling on his bread as Jesse continued to polish his swords.  
  
They had decided to sit down after that whole ordeal. There was a lot to discuss, and John was worried that there was more going on behind the scenes than the two of them realized.  
  
“You know..” John continued, “I get the feeling we’re being used as pawns in someone’s game.”  
  
Jesse laughed as he tossed the rag back to John,  
  
“Well of course we are.. wasn’t that the idea behind this whole adventure? The most realistic gaming experience.”  
  
Swallowing the last bite, John shook his head.  
  
“That’s not what I meant. I mean.. think about it. I have been sensing someone-er..uh..well _their mana_.. I have been sensing mana on and off occasionally for the past day or so, and it’s usually to the south of us, roughly 100 to 200 feet away. Whoever they are, they maintain that same distance, but for whatever reason, every time I pick up something, it vanishes again. At first I thought I was imagining things, or mixing it up with random forest dwellers, but it’s becoming increasingly more likely that we are being tracked. ”  
  
After putting away one of his swords, Jesse rose to his feet.  
  
“Are you sure you aren’t mistaking it for forest creatures, as you originally suspected?”  
  
“At this point, I’m almost positive. But.. what I don’t get is.. Why haven’t they attacked us yet? Technically we’re sitting ducks out here. If my senses are correct, they have known of our location for at least a day or two. They could have easily sent for backup and picked us off in our weakened state. But they haven’t. It’s really quite strange.”  
  
Nodding, Jesse held out his hand to help John up off the ground.  
  
“Well, what do you think we should do? If..whatever this is– wanted to attack us, it very well could have. I personally think we should just continue on as we have been. Maybe it’s some fan or something. I mean, we HAVE kinda made a name for our selves as ‘The travelers who plan to get the blood crystal or stone or whatever it was’. Maybe they’ll eventually get bored and leave us alone.”  
  
Picking up his pack, John fell into step beside Jesse.  
  
“You’re probably right. There really isn’t anything else we can do right now. Training is the safest bet to keep our selves safe for the moment. ”  
  
Pulling out the map, the two of them decided north was the best place to be heading, and with that they continued forward killing any mobs that happened to cross their path.  
  
  
 *****Meanwhile*****  
  
  
  
Mr. Sether was sitting in his quarters, frowning over a map of Alumawyn Woods. About a day or so had passed since his earlier report, and he was beginning to worry that Darium might not learn anything useful about the two adventurers by the next report. That wouldn’t do at all. Sighing, the brunette slammed his fist down on the table in frustration when Darium then entered the room.  
  
“Mr. Seether, sir, I have news about TB and Mojo.”  
  
Sether, breathing a sigh of relief, looked up with a calculative smile at his red haired subordinate.  
  
“Oh?…Do tell.”  
  
Grinning back, Darium went on to tell him about the were-rats, and where he believed the two were heading. He then began to tell him about his idea. After going into farther detail, Mr. Sether grinned wildly.  
  
“Brilliant!” Sether chuckled, “If you can pull this off, The Dark Lord will be very pleased. I give you permission to take any potions and gold you need to accomplish this. Just make sure you report to me anything you find out. Dismissed.”  
  
Darium smiled back evilly,   
  
“Yes sir.”  
  
..and then exited the room. Walking back to the map, Mr. Sether grinned at the two pins marking the middle of the forest, one red and one purple respectively.   
  
“He better be able to make this work… Or it’s my head that’s on the line.”  
  
  
******************   
  
Eventually night began to approach, and they both decided it would be a good idea to make camp. Jesse headed off to find some logs, and John started on the fire and dinner. Forty minutes later they were sitting by the blaze, eating freshly cooked venison and their earlier purchased bread. As the moon began to rise Jesse smiled at John, speaking quietly.  
  
“I feel like we’ve gotten a lot stronger today..”  
  
John looked across at his friend, the yellow glow of the fire glinting off of the blondes glasses, shielding his eyes with the glare.  
  
“I believe we have as well. Soon we will both reach level five, and with it, our secondary skills will be unlocked. I know I probably said it before, but we make a good team I think.”  
  
Jesse took a bite of his meat and nodded in agreement. He liked being John’s training partner, and believed the two of them really did work well together. After he finally accepted his internal struggle from earlier today, he felt a lot better and calmer about the whole thing, and even now, the idea of being 'trapped’ here wasn’t so bad anymore.   
  
John continued to watch Jesse. He had a wistful look on his face, and his energies were calm. John wasn’t sure how to read them, but enjoyed the feeling of Jesse’s calmness, which in turn relaxed him self as well. Part of him still felt guilty for doing that, but the other half of him justified it with 'self understanding’ and 'being able to detect ambushes, like the one that happened earlier.’ Jesse didn’t need to know the logistics of it. All he needed to know was that John could sense when someone dangerous was nearby, and if this person was dangerous, at least now the two of them were on the same page and could deal with whatever was to come. They were training for a reason after all.  
  
“So who take’s first watch tonight?” Jesse asked, snapping John out of his thoughts. Taking another bite of his venison, he chewed quietly for a few moments before replying.  
  
“I can, if you like. I’ll keep close watch for anything suspicious and wake you if our 'friend’ returns. Hopefully it will be a quieter night tonight. I’ll give you about five hours. Does that sound ok?”  
  
Jesse nodded with a smile.  
  
“Thanks bro. But do that if anything attacks us– Not just the dude you felt earlier. Don’t try to take any shit on by your self. We’re a team, and that means we fight together.”  
  
Smiling back at him, John nodded in agreement.  
  
“Alright, if you insist. Go on now, get some rest.” He then pulled out the travelers guide and opened it to the page he had marked. Jesse, shaking his head with a chuckle, walked back to the shelter and unrolled the sleeping bag before crawling in. He then took off his glasses and laid them carefully next to his bags, his swords within range to grab if any emergencies came about.  
  
As Jesse drifted off to sleep, John continued silently reading the guide book to pass the time. Occasionally off in the distance, a twig would snap or the sound of wolves howling could be heard, but for the most part, the night remained peaceful. The words on the page were all he could hear in his mind, and the more he read, the more calm he felt, but in spite of that calmness, another feeling began to emerge: Determination.   
  
Eventually at one point, John closed his eyes. He listened to the wind, and the rustle of the leaves in the trees. He took a deep breath of the fresh night air, and a small smile began to grow on his lips.   
  
_~Just you wait, Dark Lord. We’re coming for you. ~_ He thought to him self with a grin, looking up at the moon in the sky. Tomorrow the two of them would head farther north, and hopefully reach Widows Point. There would most likely be a camp set up– if the icon on the map gave any indication– and if there was, then that would mean there would probably be quest givers.   
  
Satisfied with his plans for the next day, John glanced over at a sleeping Jesse, and smiled at the blonde who was curled up in a fetal position. He had put a lot of work into his training earlier, and from their battle with the were-rats, it was apparent that it was paying off. The swordsman was becoming quite skilled, and John could only imagine with joy about how powerful the two of them would be after this entire adventure was over.  
  
Continuing to stare at his friend, Jesse cracked a smile in his slumber and mumbled something unintelligible under his breath before rolling over on to his back. In spite of this, Jesse’s energies hadn’t changed or fluctuated from the point where he fell asleep, and John began to wonder what the American was dreaming about, silently cursing the fact that waking thoughts were the only thing he could catch wind of.   
  
He wasn’t trying to pry into Jesse’s mind though.. No… not at all.. He didn’t really need to know… he just wanted to learn how to understand which energies represented what, that was all.. Jesse then chuckled under his breath, and mumbled something else before rolling to his side once more.  
  
Slightly annoyed with him self,(Or maybe Jesse’s poker-face energies when sleeping)John turned back to the book.  
  
 _ **Secondary skills are predetermined based off of the class you choose. Sometimes they can add a tactical advantage when utilized properly.**_  
  
Abruptly closing the book, John once again looked over at Jesse, who was beginning to snore. Closing his eyes, he decided to sense for anything nearby that could possibly be a threat to them.  
  
…  
  
Nothing. He then opened his eyes and frowned. At this point, John was almost wishing something would attack. He had been reading for what felt like hours, and though he initially wanted a calm night, he was beginning to feel antsy.  
  
Rising to his feet, the brit decided to pace around back and fourth to quell the frustration he was feeling. Back and forth he walked around the fire, which was only now starting to dim a little bit, when - as if John’s prayers came true - he heard something in the distance. He closed his eyes.  
  
 _Crunch crunch.. tap tap tap.. crunch.. tap…_  
  
Those were footsteps. The footsteps of someone who wore boots. Probably a human..  
  
Curious, John glanced back at Jesse and back out into the darkness again as the footsteps began to sound like they were coming closer.   
  
_~Who would be wandering around the forest in the middle of the night?_ ~ John wondered, ~ _.. and are they friendly or not….“_  
  
Deciding it would be a good idea to wake Jesse, John slowly stepped over to his blonde friend and knelled down gently shaking him awake.  
  
”..but I don’t like that game!“ Jesse said as he roused from his dream abruptly, ”.. h..huh? Where am… Oh. John… is there a problem.. are we ***Yawn*** being killed or something?“  
  
John chuckled a little, happy to have someone to talk to finally,  
  
"I’m not sure… I hear footsteps. People footsteps, and they are heading this way. I figured it might be in our best interests to be awake in case they aren’t friendly.”  
  
Jesse nodded, yawning and putting on his glasses before reaching for his swords.  
  
“..mmk.. How long was I out for?”  
  
John went to sit in front of the fire again, this time with his red blade in hand. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he should have it with him at that moment.  
  
“I’d say about four hours or so. I know I promised you five, but you said not to try to take on potential enemies my self.”  
  
Wandering back to the fire and sitting beside John, Jesse nodded in agreement. He may have been tired, but he didn’t mind if it meant they were safe.  
  
“It’s ok, bro. I’d rather be awake, than missing anything important.” Jesse then closed his eyes and listened for him self.  
  
 _Crunch.. tap tap.. crunch crunch_  
  
It was getting louder and those definitely were footsteps of someone with boots on. Eventually, the two of them saw a light off in the distance.  
  
John whispered to Jesse,  
  
“I think that’s a torch.”  
  
“Do you think they’re dangerous? Also, who in their right mind would be traveling through here in the middle of the night?” Jesse whispered back.  
  
“No idea. That’s why I thought it best to wake you.”  
  
The light began to get closer as John and Jesse rose to their feet, ready to fight what ever it was that was approaching them. As the footsteps grew ever closer, finally the leaves of the surrounding brush began to part, until a young man about the age of twenty or so came through the bushes.  
  
“Ah so it _WAS_ a fire I saw from the distance!! Thank goodness!! I thought I would be lost forever! My you two are up late. Care to help a weary traveling merchant, and point me in the direction of Widows Point? I seem to have lost my compass.”  
  
John and Jesse after a brief pause, lowered their weapons and looked at the strange man. He was about 5,5" and had blazing red hair, and eyes to match. Could this have been the man John was sensing earlier?   
  
Concentrating hard, John focused on him- trying to feel for the same energy pattern as before. Jesse was less cautious though, and walked up to the man before the brit could think of a polite way tell Jesse not to. He didn’t want to offend the merchant, in case he happened to have some wares to sell them that would be useful, but he also didn’t want Jesse to fall for any disguises, and something about this whole situation seemed fishy to him.  
  
Smiling, the blonde welcomed the red head to sit at the fire with them.  
  
“Well I think we can help you, sir. The name’s Mojo, and this is my friend TB. Who might you be?”  
  
The red head smiled warmly at the two of them,   
  
“My name is Arumid, though most folks call me Aru. I’ve been traveling through this forest for what felt like days, since I lost my compass. I am ultimately trying to make it to Ebora, but I had wanted to stop in at Widows Point to stalk up on some of my wares before moving on. It was a lucky break that I happened to see your camp.”  
  
John carefully sat back down beside Jesse, unable to sense any familiar energy patterns from the man. If it was this guy he had been picking up on, he must have been confusing the energies with other energies coming from hostile mobs like those were-rats or something. That might explain how the feelings randomly vanished…. although he still didn’t know enough about his powers to make that assumption… and the fact that this man was wandering around at night, made him feel a little uneasy. Deciding to play it cool, John smiled at the man, finally speaking up,   
  
“Indeed. It would have been terrible if some gnoll or beast had have attacked you. Although I take it you aren’t unarmed, being a merchant and all. ”  
  
Arumid gave John a knowing smile and nodded.  
  
“Indeed you are right, wizard… I do have some weapons to defend my self. I might even have some weapons you could use as well.”  
  
Jesse, with a large grin, added his own two cents,  
  
“You wouldn’t happen to carry any warrior gear, would ya?”  
  
The red headed man chuckled for a moment, as the other two began to mumble to one and other about things they could potentially need for their trek ahead, before replying to them.  
  
“Well, lets say we make a deal. You guys help me reach Widows Point, and I will give you each some new armor and my one of my best potions tailored for each of your professions. Does that sound fair?”  
  
Jesse opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a word out, John slapped his hand over the Americans mouth, and said,   
  
“Let me discuss this with Jes-er.. Mojo for a moment, before giving your our decision ok?”  
  
Arumid nodded with a smile as John then pulled a somewhat complaining Jesse into the shelter to talk.  
  
Once John removed the hand over Jesse’s mouth, the blonde whispered to him roughly,   
  
“What’s the big deal, John?? He’s just a salesman dude! He was probably the source of the mana you were sensing earlier, and the poor guy has been lost in the woods for days. The least we could do is help him out– and he’s even going to reward us! I’ll bet this is a quest.”  
  
John sighed at Jesse and replied,   
  
“I know. You are probably right, but this whole situation smells funny to me. He feels different than what I was sensin–” John noticed the slightly odd look Jesse gave him as he began that sentience, and decided to change the subject, “–eh.. never mind that. You are probably right, he was most likely the cause of that. But wandering around at night isn’t exactly things normal humans do in this world. ”  
  
Jesse rolled his eyes at John, expecting him to suggest they throw away this opportunity for loot. Surprisingly though, John replied,   
  
“I think we should take his deal, but please Jesse.. Do try to be more careful next time? You walked right up to him before we even had a chance to asses if he was dangerous or not. It could have been some enemy or something, and next time we might not be so lucky.”  
  
With a grin, Jesse agreed, and began to go out to talk to Arumid with John not far behind.  
  
“We agree to your deal.” Jesse said with a smile, sitting back down in front of the fire. John walked up behind Jesse, but remained standing, quietly. Arumid smiled back warmly,  
  
'Wonderful. Since we are all in agreement, and it’s late, I think now would be a good time to get some sleep then. What do you both say?“  
  
Nodding and pulling out his map, Jesse said,   
  
"Sound good to me. My turn to be on watch. You both get some rest, and I will wake you when the sun rises. According to my map, we are actually really close to Widows Point, so we can head out early and be there really soon.”  
  
“Good.” Arumid said. John was still quiet.   
  
John then climbed into the sleeping bag, carefully watching their new party member. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t trust him.   
  
_~I have a feeling I wont be getting much sleep. ~_ John thought to him self as he settled into the sleeping back, closing his eyes. All of his energies were focused on the red head.  
  
Tonight would be a long night……  
  
  
*******


	9. ch9

As the dark navy of the night’s sky had ascended into a brighter blue, the suns rays could just barely be seen cascading over the tips of the trees– signaling daybreak. The fire had long since fizzled out, and Jesse had spent most of the night watching the stars slowly fade away one by one.  
  
After John and Arumid had went to bed, he found him self once again watching his British friend adoringly. This time though, he didn’t feel guilty about it. For the first time in the whole game, (besides the dream yesterday) he felt truly at peace with the whole thing. A part of him kind of wondered if John was beginning to feel the same, or if he would start to at some point later, but it was only a passing thought that he dismissed just as quickly as it had came.  
  
Glancing over, Jesse took note of the newcomer. Arumid was resting across from John, leaning up against the side of the shelter. He was average looking in most ways; almost generic for a traveling salesman. Average height, average build, and even generic “I’m a merchant” clothes. The only thing that seemed to stand out the about him was his striking red hair and from what Jesse remembered, eyes as well. It wasn’t your typical ginger hair color. It was ‘red’ red, like an anime character almost, and Jesse wondered to him self quietly if this world had hair dyes, or if colors that bold just came naturally to some people.   
  
Puzzling over that thought had brought him to the world it’s self. Jesse looked up into the sky, and gazed at the many stars that dotted the otherwise dark empyrean. Now that he looked at it, their formations were really quite different from home. There was no 'big dipper’ or 'Leo the Lion’, and many of the other familiar constellations were gone. Instead, there appeared to be a bunch of other clusters of stars that made him wonder exactly what they were called, or if the people of this world cared about their existence at all.  
  
So as the last of the stars had faded into the approaching daylight, Jesse decided it would be a good time to wake the others up. If they wanted to reach Widows Point at a suitable time for breakfast, now would be the best time to head out.  
  
Standing, Jesse slowly walked over to the hut and knelt down to wake John up first. As his hand went to touch the brit’s shoulder however, John opened his eyes and stared up into Jesse’s, taking the blonde off guard a little.  
  
He looked exhausted, as if he didn’t get any sleep at all, and Jesse frowned at his friend, worry evident on his face.   
  
_~I hope he didn’t use too much mana yesterday.. Maybe he had a nightmare? Oh, what if he’s sick? God, is there even medicine in this world?~_  
  
As Jesse’s mind raced of possible reasons for TB’s condition, the brit continued to stare up into the eyes of his worried friend.  
  
 _~He knows I stayed awake all night, and he’s worried about me.~_ John thought to him self, Jesse’s energies being easily readable _~I know I should have rested, but I something tells me I shouldn’t trust this merchant. If he had have done something to Jesse while I was sleeping, I would never forgive my self…~_  
  
After a few moments of silence, Jesse decided to say something,   
  
“Are you ok, buddy? You look like you didn’t sleep a wink last night…..”  
  
John nodding in response to the question, continued to stare up at Jesse, too tired to actually talk at that moment.  
  
 _~I’m probably just paranoid, but until we can get to know him better, I can’t trust this guy alone.. I’m sorry to worry you Jesse.~_   
  
“…Well..If you say so.” The blonde simply replied, and then went to go wake Arumid.  
  
“Rise and shine.” Jesse had said to him, instead of shaking him awake, and after a brief pause, the red headed man had then slowly opened his eyes yawning slightly, replying with a 'thank you.’  
  
Jesse walked back to the fire pit to grab the rest of his things, while John continued to lay in the sleeping bag, following the energies of the two others as they were packing up. He knew he had to get ready to go, and was angry with him self for being as tired as he was. Reluctantly, he finally dragged him self out of the bag, and rolled it up, packing it away neatly.  
  
All the while, Jesse was watching John in the corner of his eye. He looked so tired he could barely move, and the blonde continued to wonder what was wrong with his friend. Part of him wanted to tell John to continue to rest some more, but they had promised Arumid they would reach Widows Point, and if they wanted a gear upgrade and those specialized potions, they would need to head out, tired or not.  
  
“So you said that Widows Point was in this direction, yes?” The red head had said, breaking Jesse from his thoughts.  
  
“Yeah, about 4 miles up.”  
  
“Wonderful!” He replied, then glancing at John, continued, “You’re friend looks like he didn’t get any rest at all. Unless he’s not a morning person maybe?”  
  
In response, John shot the man a death glare before picking up his pack, and walking up ahead into the bush, leading the way.  
  
“Maybe a bit of both.” Jesse joked, and ran to catch up to John. Arumid just chuckled and followed behind them. It wouldn’t be long now, before they reached their destination.  
  
The three of them walked in silence down the beaten path heading north. Only the sound of birds chirping as the morning wore on, and the crunching of leaves beneath their feet could be heard as they traveled.  
  
Throughout the silence, Jesse watched John in the corner of his eye carefully, making sure he was alright. It looked as if the poor man was going to collapse at any moment, and as much as Jesse wanted to take a rest him self, they all needed to reach Widows Point before they could do anything. Besides.. It wasn’t too much farther ahead.   
  
John continued to track Jesse’s energies, noting the concern he felt coming off the blonde in waves, and felt terrible for making him worry as much as he was. The two of them had a long day of training yesterday, and it was true that he had exhausted him self quite a bit, using more mana than he normally was used to. Using mana tended to make John dizzy, and it usually took some time before that mana would return. So that, aside from taking first watch and getting virtually no sleep had run the man down to the wire. The blonde and the brit continued to exchange glances at each other as they walked, both worried about each other, but neither willing to say it. Arumid quietly watched the exchange between them curiously, and a small smile tugged the sides of his lips.  
  
 _~This is very interesting… ~_ He thought quietly to him self, watching them from the back, _~They seem to both be able to communicate to one and other non verbally, though I can’t tell if it’s just body language, or if the wizard can actually telepathically talk. I should keep a closer watch.. maybe I can learn more.~_  
  
Finally, the silence was broken by John, who worked up enough strength to actually talk now.  
  
“Just a little farther now. I’d say… ***yawn*.**. about a mile off.”  
  
Pleased to actually hear him talk, Jesse smiled a bright smile, stifling a yawn of his own before saying,  
  
“How you holding up, dude? You look like hell.”  
  
“I’m holding. That’s all that matters. I didn’t get much sleep last night… I’m sorry to make you worry.” Glancing at the red headed merchant, TB added, “I found the ground kind of rough to sleep on.. That’s all. What I wouldn’t give for a nice comfy bed.”  
  
“I hear ya, buddy. Aleena’s is looking pretty nice right now. I’m sure Widows Point has something a little more comfortable than anything I could build. They also might have work for us to do.”  
  
Chuckling, John nodded and continued to walk in silence again. Jesse and him then fell into step beside each other, as Arumid followed behind them about ten feet away.  
  
Arumid continued to watch them as they walked and occasionally made light conversation. Sometimes they would ask him questions, and other times they would make jokes with each other. The way they acted with one another, it was as if they had been friends their whole lives. There was something quite different about them more than anyone else he had ever encountered, and he wanted to explore this theory farther.  
  
“I have an odd question for you two.” He started. John glanced at Jesse, then back towards Arumid. Jesse just smiled at the merchant and said,  
  
“Go ahead.”  
  
“You two wouldn’t happen to be those travelers everyone’s been talking about lately, would ya? Roomer has it, they’re looking for the Blood Crystal, because they want to dethrone his majesty, the Dark Lord.”  
  
John’s attention focused on the words 'his majesty’. The question was simple enough, sure, and it would make sense that Aru would have heard of the two of them.. However both Jesse and John had yet to meet anyone who referred to that sorry-excuse-for-a-king as 'his majesty’. Before John could say anything in response though, Jesse opened his mouth to reply.  
  
“Well yes, actually. I believe we’re the ones you had been hearing about—”  
  
Not letting Jesse get the chance to put his foot any deeper in his mouth without realizing it, John cut him off.  
  
“But we don’t aim to dethrone _his majesty_ …” John said looking at Jesse sharply, “I have no idea where you got that idea from. We are looking for the Blood Crystal so that we can become stronger and serve _under him.”_  
  
“I see.” Arumid said, looking at John carefully, “So the stories are only half true.”  
  
John looked over at Jesse briefly, and flashed Arumid a sly smile.  
  
“Well, you know what they say about roomers. It goes from person to person, and somewhere along the line the story gets changed. Eventually, it’s not even the same story. To be honest, it might not be long before we’re known by different names. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually someone out there thinks we’re the Dark Lord our selves in disguise. Now THAT would be laughable.” John replied chuckling.   
  
Arumid laughed as well in response, as Jesse walked along quietly. In his mind, Jesse caught wind of what TB was trying to do. He may have been tired, but John was definitely on the ball, and the American had almost missed it, making a potential enemy.  
  
 _~This guy refers to the Dark Lord as his majesty. That must mean he serves under him in some way.._ “ Jesse contemplated to him self. _~Does that make Aru our enemy?~_  
  
 _~Well shit.~_ The red head thought to him self, unsure of what to say. Arumid continued to watch the two of them, not sure about what to do now. His plan had seemed so perfect: Disguise him self as a merchant, and get close to the two of them. Gain their trust, and find out more about what they know. After gaining enough intell, return with his report, and hopefully he would have received some sort of reward. All Darium had needed was a false name, which he decided on "Arumid” and some potions to disguise his energies from TB. All of this should have worked… But it seems now, his cover was partially blown. But how?  
  
TB had somehow figured out where his loyalties were. If he didn’t find a way to gain their trust, Mr. Sether would be upset.  
  
And to make matters worse, they had just arrived at Widows Point.  
  
“Looks like we’re here now.” Jesse said to the man, unsure of what to farther say. Darium smiled at him, trying to think of a way to deceive them.  
  
“I see. Thank you for the escort.. I could not have made it here without my compass. As promised, here are your potions. If you would like some new armor, I have some in my bags. Let me set up my shop and I will give you the rest of your reward as promised…”  
  
John watched the merchant carefully, thinking to him self. His energies seemed a little off guard after his initial reply to the question earlier. It almost felt like a slight fear. He wasn’t expecting this kind of a reaction.   
  
Now part of him was beginning to second guess him self. What if Arumid was actually against the Dark Lord, and hearing about what Jesse and him were supposedly planning on doing, had instilled mistrust toward the duo? But then again there was the fact he called the Lord 'his Majesty’. Why would he have done that, if he wasn’t aligned with him in some way. His energies just didn’t make any sense to the brit.   
  
Jesse watched John, as his expressions changed from confident, to unsure. Something was going on that he didn’t pick up on, and he was beginning to wonder if John was really ok. Turning back to the red headed merchant, Jesse said,  
  
“Thanks. We’ll be back here in a bit then. Come on John, we should go find a place to set up camp of our own. It looks like there are other shops around here for us to get items from.”  
  
Nodding, John said his thanks for the potions and walked off with Jesse. As soon as the two were out of earshot, Jesse turned to John.  
  
“Ok. Whats the deal? I know somethings up with you, because you haven’t been acting your self all day. I caught what you did when Arumid asked about us earlier.. but do you really think this guy works for the Dark Lord?”  
  
John, still utterly exhausted, looked at Jesse and replied.  
  
“Have you heard anyone else refer to the Dark Lord as their 'majesty’?”  
  
There was a brief pause of silence, as the two of them thought carefully about the situation. John then continued,  
  
“Look.. I don’t know if he does. I am starting to second guess my self, because after I told him we plan to serve under the Dark Lord, Arumid’s en– er..Well, he seemed off. Like something was bothering him I might have made a mistake.”  
  
Jesse put his arm around John and gave him a friendly pat on the back.  
  
“We all make mistakes man. I mean look at me! I always seem to be putting my foot in my mouth. I think we should just wait and see how this all plays out. If he turns out to be on our side, we can just say we were joking. Make something up. I dunno.”  
  
John yawned loudly, but smiled and nodded, too tried to continue dwelling on this.  
  
“That sounds like an idea. Right now though if you don’t mind, I want to get some rest.”  
  
Agreeing, Jesse smiled back.  
  
“I need some rest my self. What do you say we find a place to make camp? There’s a large pond over that way and it’s been two full days since I last had a shower, so I think that might be a good place to set up.”  
  
John nodded, and the two of them headed off towards the pond. Meanwhile 'Arumid’ started to set up a make-shift shop and continued to mull over his screw up.  
  
 _~Where did I give it away? I just don’t understand. Hopefully the two of them will be back later this evening to pick up that armor I promised them. I need to think of a way to gain their trust… hmm~_  
  
Darium began to think really hard. Widows Point was the main place of trade in Alumawyn Woods, so there were many other merchants and vendors set up in the large clearing. He had to think of a way to earn their trust.. Maybe hire them to collect furs for a reward? They had mentioned they were looking for work…   
  
Continuing to think as the morning wore on, Darium finished setting up his vendor shop. He would eventually come up with something. He had no other choice.   
  
***  
  
As the sun had reached the high point in the sky, the morning began to transition into afternoon. The clearing was a bustle of vendors and and patrons, mostly from the neighboring city of Ebora, and John and Jesse had finally finished making a suitable camp.  
  
As suggested earlier, they had set up near the pond, and before taking their planned nap, the two had purchased a few extra blankets and pillows from one of the merchants nearby. There was a cabin off to the left side of the clearing which John and Jesse had rented for the duration of their stay, and upon walking inside, a bed never looked so comfortable as it did now.  
  
Only problem was, yet again there was only one.   
  
The two had been too tired to think to ask about such things. The prospect of a proper bed at all was more than heaven to them at that moment in time, and upon first sight of the building, any other concerns left their mind before even having the chance to enter it in the first place.  
  
John, in his exhaustion, wandered over to the bed and flopped down on the mattress with a comfortable moan. He rolled on to his back and closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of the soft feathers that filled the mattress.  
  
As Jesse looked around the room and the lack of second sleeping quarters dawned on him, he looked back over at John, who was already out like a light.  
  
“Just our luck.. heh..” Jesse said quietly, his eyes looking at John warmly, a small adoring smile at the corner of his lips.   
  
The dark haired man had passed out so quickly, he still had his top hat partially on his head. Jesse slowly walked over to the bed and removed the hat, placing it on the dresser next to the bed.  
  
After a pause, the blonde then sat down on the end, wondering if he should rest too, or just let John have the whole thing to him self. He wasn’t nearly as tired is the brit, but Jesse still wanted some sleep. He had been up for a while as well after all. Would it be so bad if they shared the bed again? It’s not like he was hurting anyone, and as long as John never found out about _that.._ everything would be ok.  
  
“You didn’t seem to mind before…” Jesse said aloud quietly, more to him self than to John.  
  
Almost as if TB had heard him, he rolled on his side again, freeing up a little space. Jesse smiled at the man as that familiar blush painted his cheeks again.  
  
“Thanks John..” He whispered, curling his legs and laying down next to the brit. Even with only an inch of space, the bed was really comfortable. Jesse then closed his eyes and let fatigue claim him, following TB into slumber. Hopefully John’s 'answer’ wont have changed by the time he woke up. Somehow though, Jesse had a feeling it wouldn’t.  
  
***


	10. 10

The hours passed like minutes in the log cabin where the two players laid, catching up on their much needed rest. From around noon until roughly 5pm they had been sleeping, while outside Darium was planning.  
  
Still unaware of how John had figured him out, he sat at his shop, selling trinkets and items to the many traders that passed by, hoping the two would return for the rest of their reward. It bothered him to be giving them upgrades to their current gear, but if he wanted to gain their trust, he would need to make a few sacrifices.. and that was one of the ones he was willing to make.  
  
As it stood, he still had no idea why there was an order not to kill the two of them in the first place, but he figured maybe he could understand the Dark Lords reasoning better if he got to know the two of them more.  
  
Either way, he would be finding out soon. At the end of the week, his majesty would explain further about why they were not to kill the two of them yet, and once that was revealed, the Dark Lord’s true plan would begin.   
  
For now, all he could do was wait.  
  
***  
  
Back in the cabin, Jesse was the first to wake up. Naturally, as he had more sleep than his British counterpart, he began to rouse from his dreams with a yawn, and opening his eyes, he was greeted with John - still fast asleep, who’s face was a mere inches away from his own.   
  
A typical blush heated up on Jesse’s cheeks as he took a moment to stare at his dark haired companion, the urge to kiss him almost maddening.   
  
The brit had a small smile on his face that left Jesse wondering what he was dreaming about, and the dramatic appearance of fatigue from earlier was only a minor trace at this point. Jesse smiled back at John warmly before sitting up carefully, slowly rising off the bed to his feet, trying his hardest not to disturb his still sleeping friend.  
  
As the bed leveled out, Jesse’s weight no longer displacing John’s, the man frowned a little and rolled on to his back, before his face resumed the same adorable smile from prior.  
  
“Just rest as much as you need to, buddy.” Jesse whispered to him, as he picked up his bag and looked through it.   
  
The blonde was curious about the vendors that lined the large clearing of Widows Point, and he also wanted to catch up to Arumid, who still had armor he promised to give the two of them. He would have wanted John to come with, but what with him being as tired as he was, he couldn’t bear to wake the man, and chose to go on his own.   
  
Finally locating some paper and a pen, he wrote John a note in the case he woke up before Jesse got back.  
  
 **“John,**  
  
 **If you see this before I get back, I went to go get that armor Arumid promised us and I kind of wanted to check out the other vendors. I’ll bring you back something nice.**  
  
 **Sleep well,**  
  
 **Jesse”**  
  
He then placed the note on top of John’s hat and headed towards the door. Taking one last look at his sleeping friend, he stepped outside of the cabin, closing the door behind him, and walked off in the direction the two had came.  
  
The warmth from the sun felt nice on his face, as Jesse wandered over to the many vendor shops set up about the area. Thinking quietly to him self, the blonde casually took note of the various items displayed up for sale.  
  
Some were selling furs. Others sold baked goods and other various foods. Towards the eastern side of the clearing, there were a few weapon shops and leather armorers, and off to the side of them was Arumid’s potion shop.  
  
Curious, Jesse casually approached the small shop, unsure of how to address the young merchant. He still wasn’t even sure if the man was loyal to the Dark Lord or not, and if it wasn’t for the fact he still owed them some armor, the American might not have bothered to stop by.  
  
Darium smiled as he saw Jesse approaching his shop. Now was his chance to try and gain the swordsman’s favor. But.. where was the wizard? Surly the two of them always traveled together. Something didn’t seem right about this.  
  
As Jesse came within ear shot, ‘Arumid’ smiled at him as he approached,  
  
“Welcome back, Traveler. Where’s your wizard friend? I figured the two of you would both have come to claim the armor I had promised. Don’t think I forgot about that.”  
  
Jesse smiled back, nervously at the man. He wasn’t sure why but without John there, the blonde worried he might say something stupid and not realize it. Ignoring his feelings, Jesse replied.  
  
“Thank you for that. TB is still catching up on the sleep he lost.. I was just wandering around. I wanted to see what the shops all had to offer.”  
  
“Ah yes. Widows Point is the main hub for trade in these woods. Trappers and blacksmiths come from all the surrounding cities to sell their goods. It would be too expensive and too far for most people to trek through the whole of Alumawyn, so people set up here instead, as it is almost dead center of the woods, and the large pond means one can stay for long periods of time before needing to return to town.”  
  
“Makes sense.” Jesse nodded, “So, about that armor.. What exactly did you have in mind for us?”  
  
Arumid nodded back at the man before turning around and digging through a box in the corner of his hut he had set up. After a brief moment, he returned to the counter and laid out in front of Jesse two beautifully crafted garments. One of them was an elegant black button up shirt with gold trim and the other was a red and orange tunic with a matching belt that had clips for various bags to hang from. Pushing the items towards Jesse, the red head smiled.  
  
“Take them. The black one has an enchant on it that increases mana capacity, and the tunic has one that aids to strength. I believe these should be useful to you and TB.”  
  
“Th..Thanks.” Jesse said, still unsure of how to respond.  
  
The armor was beautiful, and obviously well made. Maybe this guy served under the Dark Lord, but whether he did or not, he sure had some nice items in his inventory.  
  
“You are very welcome.” He said with a sly smile to the blonde. Unsure of what else to say, Jesse began to walk away, when Arumid continued,   
  
“You two still looking for work?”  
  
Jesse stopped and turned to the man, flashing him a small smile,  
  
“Yeah.. We are actually.”  
  
“Come by my shop after your wizard friend wakes up. I may have some tasks for you, if you’re willing, of course.”  
  
The blonde paused, unsure about agreeing. The last thing he needed to do was get mixed up in something that had him go against the promises he made to Aleena and Mrs. Buchan.  
  
“Uhh.. We’ll see. I have to see what TB says.”  
  
“I pay well, you know. Show TB the armor and see what he thinks. If I have something to your liking, come and see me again tomorrow.”  
  
Jesse smiled at Arumid gratefully. Maybe this guy wasn’t as bad as the two suspected… He would have to discuss it further with TB. The two of them were in this together after all, so Jesse decided he wouldn’t go completing quests without him.  
  
“Will do. You have your self a profitable night.” Jesse replied, and walked off back in the direction of the cabin again. Arumid waved after him as he headed down the path.   
  
As he walked, he stared at the pieces of cloth in his hands. A large grin began to pull at the corners of his lips as he began to picture John in the new shiny gear. He too would probably look awesome in his new tunic and belt combo and it had him wondering what the end-game gear would look like. Perhaps some large shiny suit of armor? And Maybe John would have a long and flowing robe complete with top hat and wand…  
  
Chuckling, Jesse finally returned to the log cabin and let him self in quietly. As expected, John was still out cold. Carefully stepping over to the dresser, he lightly placed the garments beside John’s beloved top hat and paused to look at his British friend.  
  
He still had that smile on his lips from earlier, and looked as if he would be waking up soon. The dark circles under his eyes were almost completely gone, and he was more susceptible to noises in the room, compared to before.  
  
There was a chair off to the side of the room by a desk that Jesse decided to pull up and sit in. After carefully moving the chair closer to the bed, he grabbed his pack and pulled out the Travelers Guide and started to read a little more about that secondary skill the two of them would be gaining soon. Eventually John would wake up and see the new gear they received and Jesse would be able to discuss a little more about their future plans.  
  
***  
  
About an hour passed as Jesse sat reading the book, when finally, the Brit began to stir from his sleep. Yawning, TB sat up and looked over at his blonde companion who was patiently waiting for him to wake up.  
  
“And he awakens from the depths of his slumber.” Jesse said to him with a chuckle, “I take it you feel better now? I went and retrieved the rest of our reward. Take a look!”  
  
Glancing over at the dresser, John saw his trusty top hat, as well as two finely crafted garments of clothing. Of the two of them, the black silk dress shirt with gold trim stood out to him and he reached to pick it up and look at it.  
  
As he touched the soft fabric, he felt a warm pulse in the back of his mind and smiled in realization that the shirt was indeed enchanted. It was also beautiful. The gold trim accented the seams of the sleeves and collar, giving the whole thing an elegantly regal feel, and the buttons running up the front appeared to be solid gold as well. This was certainly not a cheap piece of cloth, by any stretch of the imagination.  
  
John shifted his attention to the other article of clothing. It was a red and orange tunic that looked to be made of leather. The front had an almost fire like design, and it seemed to come with a belt that had clips made to help carry small bags - probably meant for gold and other things. It too appeared to be enchanted, but upon touching it, John noticed a different sensation, more akin to what happened when he first touched his red sword the day he arrived in the game.  
  
“These are nice.” He said to Jesse, who nodded back in agreement.  
  
“I know. Arumid said that he chose them based off of what he felt would be most useful to us… About that - He also said that if we wanted to, he had a few jobs for us to do tomorrow if we were up to it. He said he would pay us well, and if this gear is any indication, I do believe him. My only dilemma with that though, is that if he actually is working under the Dark Lord, I don’t really feel comfortable getting involved with work for them. ”  
  
John just nodded back to Jesse, in full understanding.   
  
“Well.. To be honest, I am not quite sure anymore. I understand your reasoning for not wanting to take on any work from him, what with our names on the line and the potential to cause more damage… But at the same time, this guy seems to have some items of value to us… And we still don’t know for sure…”  
  
Jesse nodded back at John, continuing,  
  
“That’s why I wanted to wait until you got up, before agreeing to anything. Speaking of which, did you want to go check out the other shops? We have a few hours before sunset after all.”  
  
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”  
  
Jesse smiled, standing up from the chair and taking the tunic from John. Walking back towards the door, he began to remove his shirt as he started to pull the new leather tunic over his head.  
  
“I think I want to change into this though. Try it on, and see how it fits, you know?”  
  
John nodded back, taking off his current purple tunic and undoing the front buttons of the new black shirt. Slipping the fabric over his arms, the shirt fit him perfectly. Then, standing up and placing the top hat clean upon his head, he struck a pose at Jesse. With a wink, John formed a tiny ball of ice floating in the palm of his left hand and proceeded to chuckle at the sensation. His mana was more plentiful than before and he could really notice it now that he had the shirt on.  
  
Jesse smiled back at John, trying his hardest not to blush at the hansom man posing in front of him. After a brief pause, John had an odd expression on his face, and Jesse wondered if the brit had noticed. Ignoring that worry, he simply said to him,   
  
“I’ll let you finish up in here, John. Meet you out front, ok?” And then proceeded to walk out the door before TB could say anything else.  
  
John had noticed the strange spike in energy coming from Jesse when he posed and winked at the blonde. He was just joking around, but maybe Jesse didn’t detect that. Frowning, he began to gather his things from his bag, choosing to bring only the essentials before following Jesse outside. All the while, mulling over the abrupt exit from his best friend out the door.   
  
_~Did I make him uncomfortable? Jesse had to have known I was only joking around.. I mean, he jokes around all the time so why would something like that cause that kind of reaction? Maybe this thing with Arumid has him on edge and he’s over thinking things too much.. He did seem a little off when he was explaining earlier about the work the guy offered us..~_  
  
Stepping out the door, John noticed Jesse leaning against a tree nearby, gazing off into the tree tops of the surrounding forest. As he stood there, off in his own thoughts, the sunlight cascading down through the leaves made his hair appear almost golden. The tunic’s orange and red coloration, combined with the new design from what John was used to seeing, really looked good on him and the brit couldn’t help but smile at his blonde companion as he took in the whole scene. Once again, Jesse’s energies were calm.   
  
Yeah.. It was probably just worries bothering the guy.  
  
“Ready?” John said to the man.  
  
Jesse, turning his attention back to TB, replied with a smile.  
  
“Lets go. I saw some really interesting items up ahead that could be a good buy.” And with that, the two headed out.  
  
Walking off in the direction of some of the fruit vendors and fur trade sales, Jesse told TB about the various shops he had come across while his dark haired companion was asleep. He mentioned about what Arumid had told him; How Widows Point was the main hub for trade in the area, and that currently at the moment, the two of them were roughly located dead center of the Alumawyn Woods. If the two were heading to the next town, they were approximately three days away, as it had taken them three days to get where they were now in the first place.  
  
John replied to Jesse, somewhat surprised about how big the forest was.  
  
“Really? Well I’d say we only have about half of our rations left. Maybe it would be a good idea to pick some more food up then.” Jesse simply nodded in agreement.  
  
“The good thing about here though, is that we don’t really need to leave any time soon anyway. We have a cabin for us to park our shit and there is a pond out back if we need to grab water to clean up. I say we just work on getting to level 5 and see what this new secondary skill is.”  
  
Thinking quietly to him self, John considered this. Jesse was right in that they had enough resources here to stay for a while. But again there was the threat that Arumid might not be as much of a friend to them as he wanted them to believe, and by sticking around, that could potentially leave them as sitting ducks while the Dark Lords forces continued to terrorize towns like the ones Aleena and Mrs. Buchan lived in. For all he knew, Arumid could be keeping tabs on them for who knows what purpose. As it was, the two of them already had a name for them selves, and roomers were already spreading about their goals to take down this Dark Lord character.  
  
One thing was for sure: They needed to get stronger, and doing work for some of the merchants around Widows Point would defiantly help with that. After a few moments of thought, John turned to Jesse with an answer.  
  
“I think you are right that it may be in our best interest to stick around for a while. But once we reach level 5 we should move on. As for work, I think we can ask a few of the vendors if they need anything done. We’re both about level 4, so a few days may be all we need if we both work at this… And for Arumid.. I’m not sure. Although, I don’t see any harm in asking him what he wants. Depending on the chore, it might not be a bad idea to help him out.. We still don’t know where his allegiances lay. Maybe we’re over thinking?”  
  
There was a small pause between the two of them as Jesse considered this, before smiling back at John.  
  
“Sounds good to me.” He said, just before noticing something and pointing just up ahead.  
  
“Oh! That’s the shop I told you about that had all the neat fruit. There were even some types I had never seen before. Want to take a look?”  
  
Instead of replying, John just chuckled and ran up ahead leaving Jesse to stare after him with a chuckle him self. As the brit slowed down, approaching the hut, the shop keeper saw the two men heading his way and waved at them with a smile.   
  
“'ello there! What can I get for you two today?”  
  
The man was short and stubby, and appeared to be standing on a stool. He had bright green eyes and very dark hair, almost black, which was tied back into a pony. His skin was tan and freckles dotted his face. He probably came from one of the surrounding regions, as both Jesse and John had never seen anyone of that stature before.  
  
“All of this fruit just looks so tasty.” Jesse said as he came up behind John who was just casually looking.  
  
“Ah yes, I 'ave some of the finest fruit you can find for miles. Care to sample some of my Manamarsh Berries? Or maybe 'ave a bite of one of my Mountain Apples. I guarantee you wont want to buy fruit anywhere else after you try them.”  
  
Jesse, thinking quietly to him self, noted how he never heard of any of these fruits before and nodded to the clerk.  
  
“I wouldn’t mind trying a few samples, sure.”   
  
John nodded in agreement, “Yeah, they sound like they could be quite tasty. If I could, I would like to try some of the..er.. Manamarsh Berries was it?”  
  
The tiny man smiled brightly,   
  
“Gladly! Let me just cut you both a piece of the Mt.Apple 'ere…”  
  
He then stepped down off the stool, and went to grab a knife from his bag that was leaning against the side of the hut. Returning, he had a small bowl filled with the obscure, dark purple colored berries that looked a lot like grapes but with leaves on the stem of them much like a strawberry. He also had a peach like fruit in his hand, except that it was bright yellow with green patches as if it wasn’t quite ripe, and also looked a little larger than your typical peach.   
  
The merchant cut a slice of the Mt.Apple as he called it, and to the surprise of both John an Jesse, in spite of the yellow-green skin, the inside was actually deep red color, much like the inside of really ripe plum. He placed the wedges of the foreign fruit on the table of his stand next to the bowl and told the two of them,  
  
“Go on. I don’t mind. It’s been a slow day, and if you enjoy the taste you might give my little shop some business. I am a firm believer in 'try before you buy’.”  
  
Jesse picked up the slice, and with only the slightest hesitation, bit down into the strange morsel. Upon watching Jesse try it, John did the same.  
  
The fruit was sweet –to be sure– but it had a sour undertone mixed with a sharp, distinctly tart flavor unlike anything the two had ever tasted before.  
  
As the two of them chewed, Jesse began to feel other properties of the fruit. He noted that he felt quite refreshed all of a sudden as if he just woke up from a long satisfying nap. John noted the same thing, which made him curious about those Marsh berries. After swallowing, John reached for the bowl and picked one of them up to inspect.  
  
“Do you like it?” The little merchant had asked them, to which Jesse nodded firmly.  
  
“I do. I’ve actually never had anything like that before. How much do they cost?”  
  
The dark haired sales man smiled at Jesse brightly, replying,  
  
“I charge a little more for the foreign fruit than I do for things more local to 'ere, but I believe 1 gold per apple is fair for something like that. What do you think they are worth?.. Considering I haven’t had much business all day, I would rather they sell before they go bad and they are at their peek ripeness right now. I may be willing to slide a deal if you would be able to take a fair portion off my hands.”  
  
Thinking about the price, Jesse turned to John,  
  
“1 gold per apple isn’t all that bad for something like this I think.”   
  
He then turned back to the man,   
  
“Don’t you have some sort of ice box to keep them fresh?”  
  
“Alas I don’t have ice magic like you. I am but a humble vendor just trying to get by. I pick the apples early, knowing it would take me about a week to come 'ere. By the time I arrive, they will have had the time to ripen enough to sell. From there, I know that I have about one week to sell 'em before they go bad, and I had arrived two days ago. I’m sure your Wizard friend 'ere, could keep them fresh far better than I could.”  
  
“Makes sense. Well I will buy two dozen of these apples from you then. I take it that means I owe you 24 gold?”  
  
“Make it 20.” The man said with a smile, “You two are my first customers of the day. As I said, I would rather the fruit not be wasted.”  
  
John popped one of the Manamarsh Berries into his mouth and noted the sweetness. They were like blackberries, but had more tartness to them like that of a raspberry. He also felt a tiny boost in his mana and smiled internally to him self. These could be useful.  
  
“How much for the berries here?” TB asked.  
  
“Those? Hmm.. Does 2 gold a pound sound fair?” The freckled man replied. John simply placed 4 gold coins down on the table beside the bowl.   
  
The shop keeper simply smiled, taking the gold and dumping the bowl into a bag before taking the bag and adding more of the berries to it, equaling to just over two pounds. Placing it back on the table again with the two dozen Mt. Apples, he also threw in what looked like a pink colored Orange.  
  
“I’ll add this Citrum in for free, since you both have been so kind to me. Come by again tomorrow, and I might have some more goods to sell.”  
  
John and Jesse then thanked the man before moving on to the next shop area.  
  
“That wasn’t too bad.” John had said, holding his bag of Manamarsh Berries up in reference. Jesse nodded in agreement before coming up to the next shop.  
  
“I think there are a few shops that could give us some useful things. There is a bakery off that way.” Jesse said pointing off to the right of them, “And some weapons and other various gear over there.” He said pointing off to the left.  
  
“Maybe we should pick up some more bread and then head to see what the weapon shop has.” John suggested.  
  
“Ok. And afterwards, I guess we could head back to the cabin and relax for a bit? I still want that bath.. It’s been too long since I had the chance to have a shower.”  
  
John just rolled his eyes, laughing lightly under his breath,  
  
“I suppose.” He said in response. Jesse just smiled, contentedly as the two headed on towards the next set of shops.  
  
*****  
  
As the evening sun transitioned to twilight, the coming night had made its presence known. Darium sat in his little shop, waiting for the rest of the vendors in the clearing to head to bed before reporting back to Mr. Sether.  
  
Out of nowhere, in a simple puff of smoke, the dark haired figure finally made his appearance as he approached the red head casually.  
  
“So, any news on those two travelers?”  
  
Darium bowed his head in respect to Sether, and shook his head in shame. What was he to tell him? That his cover had already been blown?  
  
“Sadly, nothing to note yet. I know the two of them are looking for work, however I fear my plan may have backfired, as TB had told me something curious on our little walk here. He expects me to believe he wishes to Join his Majesty, rather than to dethrone him. I can’t figure out why he would tell me that and I am still trying to figure out where my cover had been blown… But yet still, Mojo had approached me after the two had settled in, and though he seemed weary of me, he wasn’t hostile. It just makes no sense…”  
  
Mr. Sether frowned, his tone calm but sharp.  
  
“Give it time…They may grow to trust you yet. Your little plan to befriend them may not have failed. They are probably just unsure about you. Keep watching them. Our Lord will soon explain everything. I’ll be back tomorrow night to hear your report.”  
  
“Yes sir” Darium said as Mr. Sether vanished in a puff of smoke. He knew what he had to do. All he needed was just time.  
  
Time he didn’t have…  
  
*****


	11. 11

As the sun finally dipped below the trees, the remaining light from the day fading to dusk, both Jesse and John finally made it back to the cabin.   
  
The two had picked up a few more items of interest, including two enchanted rings for John to help increase his magical prowess, another short sword for Jesse that had a speed enchant on it and two necklaces that both granted them slight increased regen of their main stat: Jesse’s strength and John’s mana respectively. Along with that, they purchased some more baked goods to share between the two of them, a couple bars of soap and finally, some larger water bottles to carry with them once they left.  
  
Upon entering the wooden shack, Jesse wandered over to the bed and laid down with his arms up over his head, covering his eyes. He let out a tired sigh, a small smile tugging the sides of his lips in spite of it. Looking around, John finally gave the room his full attention for the first time, realizing the cabin only had a single bed. He chuckled to him self inwardly, at his obliviousness to the fact up until this point, and shook his head rolling his eyes.  
  
“Geez.. The cabin only has one bed? Where was I for the last nine hours..” He said to Jesse with a laugh, pulling up the chair Jesse had grabbed earlier from the desk and sitting on it. Jesse, his arms still over his eyes in a relaxed pose, simply laughed with him, replying.  
  
“I think you were too sleepy to care at the time, bro.”   
  
John’s tone of voice gave an ere of indifference, and from the slight chuckle under his breath, Jesse had noticed that he probably didn’t care. Mildly surprised by this, the blonde decided to respond honestly.  
  
“Frankly, I don’t give a shit that the cabin has only one bed… I mean, It’s not like we haven’t bunked together before, right? Is it really still a huge issue?”  
  
Jesse could hear the smirk in John’s voice as he responded.  
  
“Well at least the damn thing has a little more room on the sides than the last ones.” He paused briefly and added “And to answer your question, no.. I don’t really care either… If it saves us gold to rent a single room, than I would rather spend that gold on something more useful, like upgrades.”  
  
Jesse removed his arms from his head, sitting up on the aforementioned sleeping quarters with a smile.   
  
“That’s kinda what I was thinking.”  
  
The two shared a grin and a small pause before Jesse continued, getting up off the bed and grabbing one of the bars of soap.  
  
“I was actually thinking about taking that wash now. I’ll be in the pond out back.”  
  
John just nodded with a smile, grabbing one of the Mt. Apples and the travelers guide, opening it up to the page he had tabbed. Holding up his finger, a small flame ignited and he casually tossed it at the candle on the desk.  
  
“All be here. Just holler if you need me for anything.”  
  
Jesse just grinned a warm admiring smile at his friend, his energies warm and smooth making John feel somewhat happy.  
  
 _~He’s in a good mood it seems.~_ John noted to him self quietly as the blonde raced out the door, soap in hand. Only moments later followed a muffled *splash*. John chuckled to him self. A swim didn’t sound like a bad idea either.  
  
***  
  
As Jesse raced to the pond, tearing off his clothes in the process, he threw them at a nearby tree and proceeded to leap into the water excitedly. The water was warm and felt nice on his skin, the residual heat from the warm day still present.  
  
The blonde laughed contentedly as he swam out farther into the deeper water. Jesse really loved to swim, and that was one of the few things he didn’t get the chance to do too often. Taking a moment to relax and just float, he leaned back into the pond, staring up into the sky, a large grin adorning his face.   
  
_~In a lot of ways, I think I’m starting to love this world.~_ The blonde thought to him self happily.   
  
After a pause, he then took a deep breath, and dove beneath the water swimming as far down as he could. Opening his eyes, Jesse could see - albeit blurrily- what appeared to be fish swimming around, as well as what looked like glow in the dark algae along the bottom. Streams of seaweed dotted various patches, all of them reaching for the surface many feet above and if Jesse hadn’t have been holding it, the beauty of it would have taken his breath away.  
  
As if on que, his lungs becoming uncomfortable, Jesse headed for the surface and breached the barrier with a large gasp of air, the grin from earlier still very much present on his lips. This world was constantly surprising him every single day and he began to wonder how John felt about it as well.  
  
 _~I guess I should be getting my self clean right now.~_ He thought mildly, as he started to swim back to shore to retrieve his soap.   
  
***  
  
From within the log cabin, John sat reading the guide, his mind concentrating on these new secondary skills the two of them would soon be gaining. It appeared as if the skills would be based from their class chosen, so his would most likely be alchemy of some sort. John glanced over at the fruits purchased from earlier.   
  
_~Hmm~_  
  
Thoughts began to fill the brits mind with things he could potentially make that would aid the two of them on their quest to take out the Dark Lord. He knew some of the fruits and berries had stat properties to them, so it wasn’t that far of a stretch to think about using them as potion ingredients of sorts. The only question was, HOW to go about doing this. Having absolutely no idea where to start, John frowned turning back to the guide.  
  
 _~Hmmm… Maybe…~_  
  
He knew that tomorrow the two of them planned to look for some work, and that meant experience points. They were only one level away from level 5, so maybe he would gain the necessary knowledge then. It only made sense.  
  
After a brief pause, John decided to get up. Maybe that fruit merchant was still around and hadn’t finished packing up for the night. Glancing around the room, John saw the note Jesse had previously left for him. Reading it, he nodded turning it around to the back and writing his own.  
  
 **“Jesse,**  
  
 **If you see this before I get back, I went to go get some more fruit from that vendor. I’m not sure when he closes shop and I have a feeling it will come in handy to us later on. Don’t worry, I’ll explain more when I get back.**  
  
 **Enjoy your bath,**  
  
 **John”**  
  
He then left it on the table beside the travelers guide and took off out the door, his gold bag in hand. He only hoped the man hadn’t closed shop yet.  
  
***  
  
As Jesse swam about the pond, his mind began to wander. This little adventure the two of them were on was starting to become not so little now. They had been at this for only a week or so, and yet the two of them were only encroaching on level 5. How long was this game supposed to be exactly? Most RPGs only take about a week to beat max, and that was main story and most side quests. This game seemed to go on for what felt like a lot longer, and the more time they spent here, the easier it was to forget that this was a game in the first place.  
  
Slowly but surly, this was already becoming life for the two of them. Jesse sighed as he swam up to a fair sized rock that was located somewhat in the middle of the pond and climbed on top of it. The blonde began to lather him self up with the soap, still lost in thought.  
  
Over this last week, John and him seemed to have grown a lot closer to one another, and now the brit didn’t even seem to mind sharing a bed with the man. A small smile played at the corner of the Americans lips. It was odd in a way, as Jesse had never figured the man to be very social, least of all towards Jesse, and though they always had an interesting friendship, the blonde had never truly gotten to know the man as he did now. The two had spent over 24 hours together for the last six days constantly in one and others presence and they both hadn’t even killed each other. It was almost as if John was starting to like Jesse.  
  
 _~But not the same way that I like him though…~_ Jesse added to him self silently. _~He doesn’t need to know though. Everything will probably just return back to normal once this is all over and done with. Who knows, maybe he might even like me more as a friend after this is through.~_  
  
As Jesse continued to rub him self down with the soap, his mind continued to wander, thinking farther about his feelings for the man in question. John was smart and he was also really powerful. The way he used magic was something Jesse had come to admire and he could only imagine just how strong the two of them would eventually be when this game was almost through.  
  
In thinking of this, the image of John standing before him with those piercing eyes ran through his mind again. He had used his magic to heal Jesse—yet another thing the blonde had admired about him. His hand was soft and warm as the mana streamed from his fingers and entered the American’s wound… And that expression on his face… God, those eyes… But what if something else had have happened? What if the brit actually _had_ kissed him, like in his dream?   
  
Diving into the water, rinsing the soap off his skin, Jesse floated to the surface and continued to stare at the sky, his mind roaming free….  
  
***  
  
The fruit vendor was just getting ready to close when John ran up to his shop. Turning around, he saw the dark haired man panting as he held the bag of gold out for the vendor to have.  
  
“* _Puff Puff*_ I..wanted to ask… If you had anything else for.. me to buy.”  
  
The short man smiled with a nod, replying.  
  
“Of course. Was there anything else you had in mind?”  
  
John smiled back at him and proceeded to explain.  
  
“I was thinking this fruit could make for some useful potion ingredients. I haven’t quite learned how yet, but I believe I will have the opportunity to learn alchemy very soon, and if I need ingredients to help make mana regeneration potions or other various things, I figured your fruit would definitely work best for that.”  
  
The little man nodded in full understanding and began to dig through some of his packed away boxes then placing a bunch of other fruit on the counter, all of which the brit had never seen before.  
  
“I think these should come in handy then.” The shop keep said to him, pointing to each one and explaining, “Moth pears work best for stamina, chiss berries help with health regen, I have some northern bananas as well - they may look a little small compared to around here, but the soil from the area that I originally purchased them from is very rich in minerals, and so the trees produce a smaller more dense fruit with a higher potassium compound. That usually results in slow burst energy with a lot of mental alertness.  
  
Was there anything else you would like from me?”  
  
John shook his head, handing his bag of gold to the man with a smile as the vendor put all the fruit in a few bags for him to return to the cabin with.  
  
As John was coming back from picking up the food, the moon had already started to rise. The stars were pretty that evening, as they always seemed to be, and the wizard smiled as a cool breeze washed over him on his way back to the cabin. It was actually a really warm night.  
  
The brit closed his eyes, enjoying the calmness of his surroundings, although in the back of his mind he felt a slight tingle.  
  
That was odd.  
  
Curiosity got the better of him and he concentrated harder and was able to pin point where the energies were coming from: The pond. Frowning a little, he couldn’t quite make out what they were, but the closer he got, the more acute his senses became. John gripped the bags he was holding a little tighter and concentrated harder.   
  
That was defiantly Jesse’s energy he was feeling.  
  
He slowly followed it with his mind, trying to make out what was going on, when he felt another, slightly larger twinge in his mind, but he still couldn’t quite recognize what it represented.  
  
Could it be possible Jesse was in danger?  
  
He walked along the path slowly, continuing to feel for him, willing with his mind as strong as he could to try and place the strange sensations. He had gotten better at recognizing some of them, but occasionally some would come up that the brit just couldn’t decode. As he continued to will his mind to understand these sensations, he felt yet another even larger spike, but this time he was able to pick up a light urgency in the energies.  
  
John took off at a run. If Jesse was in danger, he couldn’t allow his best friend to be hurt. What if he was being kidnapped?   
  
As he approached the pond, Jesse’s energy was erratically urgent and John’s mind felt like it was swimming. The brit had slowed down and began to quietly sneak up to the pond, choosing to hide behind a nearby tree. Carefully placing the fruit down at the base, he tried to be as quiet as possible. He didn’t want to be detected, lest he him self get captured. It was always good to have the element of surprise. John slowly poked his head from behind the tree to look….  
  
What the man didn’t expect though, was to find Jesse - perfectly fine - sitting on top of a rock that just peaked out of the water.  
  
Naked.  
  
 _Fapping._  
  
John’s face flushed a bright red as he finally realized what those urgent sensations meant, and felt terrible for intruding on Jesse’s “me” time.  
  
 _~I should really walk away, and leave him to it.~_ The brit thought, but like a train wreck, he just couldn’t look away.  
  
The moonlight cascaded down upon Jesse’s smooth damp skin, as his mouth was just slightly open, a small smile only barely detectible upon the corners of it. His eyes were shut in some fantasy he must have been thinking about and his hand was gripped tightly around his cock, pumping slowly.  
  
Now John didn’t really like porn. He watched it maybe once or twice when he was younger having only first discovered it, but for the most part he usually preferred the imagery of his own mind. Regardless of that fact though, he couldn’t help but continue to watch. Soon enough, he realized his boxers were feeling a little tight.  
  
John looked down at the lump in his pants. It had been a while since he last had sex. An internal debate raged on in his mind between how right it was to be watching this and how sensing for Jesse’s energies was already a breach of privacy anyways.  
  
 _\- Why am I just standing here? This isn’t something I should be watching.._  
 _\- But it’s been months since I’ve last gotten any…_  
 _\- What would Jesse think if he knew?_  
 _-Then again, trying to use his energies to figure out what he’s thinking about is a breach of his privacy anyways…_  
  
 _…. In for a penny, in for a pound.  
_  
After a brief pause, in spite of him self, he decided to indulge his inner urges. Jesse wouldn’t have to know.  
John slowly undid his pants as his hard cock sprung free. He tenderly gripped it, enjoying the feel of his warm hand wrapped around the base. It really had been a while.  
  
He wasn’t sure why he was doing this, but his body urged him on as he began to slowly stroke him self in time with Jesse’s hand movements, unconsciously pretending it was him who was pleasuring the blonde.  
  
John usually got more out of making his partner feel good, so with each pump and stroke from Jesse, John would mirror on to him self, feeling that familiar pressure building deep inside.  
  
Jesse’s energies surrounded him, and he almost felt as if they were reaching out for the brit, their urgency and erratic nature only adding to John’s pleasure. It was warm, wanting, tingly and sharp, and was filling the air around him throwing his senses into a daze. Jesse was pumping harder and faster now, his eyes still shut tight, his mouth now closed biting his bottom lip in ecstasy. John continued to watch on, he too now stroking faster, willing his friend that sweet release he so desired.  
  
 _Come on Jesse.. You know it’s going to feel good.. And I want you to feel good. Cum for me now.. Come on..  
_  
Jesse started to mouth something, but he was too far away for John to hear. Pumping him self in perfect time with Jesse, John let out a quiet moan as he him self edged closer to release. The sensations only farther drove him to will for Jesse’s own.   
  
_That’s it Jesse.. It feels good right? Come on now.. Cum for me…_  
  
Eventually, the brit saw his best friend throw his head back as a hot stream of sticky fluid exploded from his cock into the water below, his energies all over the place and his face flushed red in passion.  
  
The blonde’s energies had spiked, surrounding John with their warmth, and the combination of that along with seeing Jesse in the throws of ecstasy sent John over the edge him self, cumming harder than the brit could ever recall. Biting his lip to keep from moaning out loud, hot semen shot out from his own pulsing cock as a wave of release washed over him that lasted for several seconds longer than usual.   
  
Still watching, John stood there trying to catch his breath. Jesse also continued to sit upon the rock, now looking up into the sky. The blonde was smiling, but the smile slowly faded to a frown as he turned his attention from the sky back to the cabin, his energies feeling what John recognize to be somewhat sad. The American was upset about something. John could figure as much as that out, but he couldn’t place why, and that thought actually really bothered him.  
  
The question now though, was how he was going to make his exit without Jesse noticing. The last thing the brit needed was to have to explain why he just watched his best friend jack off. What would Jesse think? How could he explain that Jesse’s urgent energies were what caused him to run and check up on him and that he hadn’t intended to intrude?  
  
He still wasn’t even sure why he allowed him self to do that. John wasn’t in to guys.. And that’s when another thought hit him. All throughout that entire ordeal, he had not even once thought of his wife. John frowned.  
  
Genna..  
  
Was that considered cheating? I mean sure, it was just rubbing one out. No harm in that. But he had thought about pleasuring someone else. Granted, that someone else was a guy and not another female, sure, but still… Does that really make it ok? He hadn’t really done anything of that nature in a while and guys look at porn all the time… Not him usually, no but…  
  
…  
  
 _It’s alright.. no one needs to know. Jesse or Genna, no one will know. This was probably a once off anyways because of pent up stress, and because for the last week Jesse was the one person I had been around for 24 hours strait consecutively for the last 6 days._  
  
Content with that thought, the brit decided to dismiss it. The only question was how he was going to make his escape.  
  
Jesse was still sitting upon that rock. His energies were somewhat sad, but they had lightened a little as if there was an amount of acceptance now. The brit was worried about his American friend, but he had no idea how to go about asking him. If he were to explain about the energy sensing, it could potentially strain the friendship the two had managed to strengthen, and that was the last thing TB had wanted to happen.  
  
He was actually really starting to enjoy Jesse’s company. He was goofy and silly sometimes, and a right pain in the ass, but - as the dark haired wizard had come to learn - he wasn’t as foolish as he made him self appear to be, and at times, Jesse was the only one John felt like he could turn to.  
  
A small smile tugged the sides of the brits lips as he continued to watch his best friend. The two of them would eventually grow stronger together, and with that their friendship would as well. He just knew it.  
  
Jesse then stood up and dove - quite gracefully much to John’s surprise - back into the water.   
  
Now was his chance to get away.   
  
He picked up the bags of fruit, almost completely forgotten upon the ground, and returned to the cabin before Jesse came back to the surface.  
  
  
*** Meanwhile ***  
  
Outside the window of the large castle, the only thing for miles that could be seen was snow. Mr. Sether continued to day dream as he looked out at the frozen wasteland when he was interrupted by a knock at his chamber door.  
  
Turning, he frowned. Who could possibly be disturbing him now? After a moment of considering ignoring it, he wandered away from the window over towards the offending noise. Opening it, about ready to bite someones head off, he was surprised to find a short young looking female, about the age of 15 standing before him. She wore dark robes that fell all the way to the floor, and had bright purple eyes to accompany her auburn colored hair.  
  
“Mindy!!” He smiled, “What a surprise!! What brings you to my chambers this day?”  
  
The young girl grinned back with a dark looking smile. Mr. Sether gulped inwardly in response.  
  
“His Majesty has requested your presence. You are to gather your underlings and meet in the dining hall by midnight. The Dark one has a very important announcement to make.”  
  
“Yes Ma'am.” The brunette replied, bowing low to the young girl. She simply smiled sweetly before walking down the hall, leaving Mr. Sether to stare after her with a relived sigh.  
  
 _~So he sent for Mindy, hmm..~ He thought quietly to him self, ~This must be important if **she’s** visiting the castle. It would not do well to get on her bad side.. she may be young, but that girl has enough skill to kill anyone here besides the Dark Lord him self. I wonder what this is all about..~_  
  
The thought entered his mind that it could possibly be about those two Travelers TB and Mojo, but the two of them were so weak that he had no idea why the Lord would bother with them as much as he was. It was true that he said he would explain at the end of the week, but to call for Mindy Magestfeild.. That must mean there was a lot more to this than he was seeing.  
  
Mr. Sether shuddered at the thought. That little girl scared him. If she was sent to kill the two travelers, the Brunette almost felt sorry for them..  
  
Walking back towards his table, he stared down at the map. Three pegs were placed upon it, one red, one purple and the other black. Darium would be back with his report tomorrow, and hopefully would have gained some more info about the two of them that the Dark Lord could use.  
  
He placed his hand over the area of the map where the black pin was located, and in a puff of smoke, the room was empty.  
  
***  
  
Darium sat in the back of his shop. He was allowing him self a small nap while waiting for daylight to return, when a puff of smoke appeared roughly 15 feet in front of the hut.  
  
“Sorry to bother you again, Darium.” Mr. Sether had said. Darium stood to his feet and bowed low to the man. This was the second time that night his Superior had come to visit, and that left him wondering what the brunette could possibly want from him.  
  
“Not a bother at all. What is it you need from me?”  
  
Mr. Sether simply paused, a worried look flashing over his face. That couldn’t be good.  
  
“His Majesty has sent for Mindy… she came to my chambers and told me the Dark Lord is having a meeting. We are to meet in the dining hall by midnight tonight.”  
  
Darium looked up at Sether, shock and mild fear in his eyes.   
  
“Mindy? As in Ms.Magestfeild…”  
  
“Yes…” the brunette replied, “So this must be serious.”  
  
Darium nodded in full understanding. That woman was a witch. A true terror in every sense of the word, and she was only a young 15 years of age. Some say the Dark Lord had trainer her him self. Others say she was the daughter of a black dragon. Whatever she was, she was a nasty peice of work. For the Dark one to ask for her presence could only mean one thing.  
  
Something big was about to happen.  
  
Mr. Sether placed his hand on Dariums shoulder as the two of them then vanished in a puff of smoke.   
  
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of a lone wolf howling in the distance, as the empty potion shop stood silent and dark.  
  
*** Back in the Cabin ***  
  
As Jesse entered the log cabin, he saw John casually laying on the bed reading. There were a few bags more than he had remembered them getting, and the strong smell of berries had him curiously walking up to the bed. John looked up from the book at his blonde companion.  
  
The two shared a moment just looking at one another, before Jesse spoke up to ask.  
  
“So.. umm. You went out to get more fruit or something?”  
  
John glanced at the bags before looking back up at Jesse. It was all he could do to keep a strait face. Jesse’s energies were almost nervous now, but the brit couldn’t decide if those indeed were Jesses, or if they were his own.  
  
“Yeah.. I had a feeling they might be useful to us.. The.. uh.. the book here says that the secondary skill relates to our chosen class profession… So I.. I decided I would go get some more fruit, since we both would be reaching level 5 soon.”  
  
Jesse nodded, cracking a smile. It broke the tension a little, but the blonde was confused as to why John was acting somewhat nervous off of a sudden. He was worried originally as the thought had crossed his mind that John might have seen him _‘cleaning’_.. But when he saw that John had went out, he relaxed and figured that couldn’t be the case. Perhaps TB had spent a little too much gold, and was worried that Jesse would be irritated with him. Jesse replied, shaking his head at that thought, a reassuring tone in his voice.   
  
“That makes sense. Thank you for heading out and getting more. You’re right that the extra fruit would come in handy, and that guy’s prices are not bad so I don’t mind. Anyways.. I had my bath, so you’re free to go wash up….”  
  
Suddenly, images of Jesse in the throws of passion from earlier invaded the brits mind. The candle light in the room was John’s savior, as at the mention of washing up a light blush flushed the dark haired mans cheeks.   
  
Jesse didn’t seem to pick up on it, and John took that opportunity to go out and get some air.  
  
“That sounds like a great idea. It’s a beautiful night, and I’m sure the water is warm.”  
  
The words leaving his mouth only egged on the images replaying through his mind, and before Jesse had time to reply, he had already grabbed the soap and headed out to the pond. As he was just leaving, Jesse had opened his mouth about to say something to the man. He grabbed the soap and was already out the door, except the soap he had grabbed was the one Jesse had used. His was still on the desk.  
  
Jesse closed his mouth, the idea of following him out there to give John’s proper soap to the man, crossing his mind. After a pause he thought better of it. He’d rather not intrude on him while he was bathing–he probably wouldn’t want Jesse to see him.  
  
Besides.. it’s not like John would ever want to see him naked either, right?  
  
  
***  
  
  
The candle light flickered in the dining hall of the Dark Lord’s castle as many people were seated around a large and long table.  
  
Many delicious foods adorned the fine wooded furniture and various goblets of wine were scattered about for the guests to drink. The clock was about to strike midnight as Mr. Sether, Darium, Mindy and many more sat to await their masters announcement. Soon enough, he arrived.  
  
The Dark Lord walked up towards the head of the table, his Orb of the Skies following close behind. Standing before everyone, the guests rose to their feet and bowed low in respect. He smiled.  
  
“I suppose you all are wondering why I have gathered you here today? Today is an important day. A day of celebration!! I suppose I should start from the beginning.  
  
As you all know, I have been king of this land for many decades. Not so much as a person or town would question my will. Today, I will explain why.”  
  
The Dark Lord rose his hand into the air as a red crystal bladed sword, appeared and landed cleanly into his palm. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the power that the sword had brought him, before opening them again and continuing.  
  
“I bring you here to tell you of my ascendance. It was long ago foretold that a young king would ascend into godhood, so long as he was able to possess the great Blood Crystal sword. As you have all seen and known, I posses such a blade, but yet… I am no god. I am here to tell you now why that is all going to change.  
  
I had promised to farther explain my self.. Mr. Sether has had his subordinates watching over these two young travelers. Their names have been written in history for many millennia. Mojo and TB….  
  
Suddenly, they appear after many foretellings and they too posses Red Crystal Bladed swords. This may sound dire, but let me explain farther.”  
  
The Dark Lord looked over at Mr. Sether with a wicked grin.  
  
“I had told you not to kill them, because their swords are the key! I can not simply just take them yet though… no no… For if I wish to ascend into Godhood, I first must wait until their blades gain strength. You see…  
  
Each blade was given to one and other at birth, and it continued to strengthen along with it’s master. If I were to take them now, the blades would be useless to me. Only when their power matches the power of my own blade, will I be able to ascend. I shall combine all three blades into the mythical Blood Blade, and upon using my own to feed the sword, I will ascend and become the God I was born to be.  
  
So I say to you all today, we celebrate! For their swords grow strong, and the stronger they grow, the closer I get to becoming a God. For any and all who follow me, I will reward you. May the darkness guide your path and the power be your salvation.  
  
So keep watching and waiting. Out time to strike grows nearer with each passing day. I will tell you all when we will strike. Thank you.”  
  
Upon leaving the table, everyone applauded. So this was his plan… Wait to see Mojo and TB grow stronger. Because the stronger they get, the stronger their Majesty gets.  
  
Darium smiled a wicked smile at Mr. Sether who returned it with a chuckle. Mr. Sether spoke quietly,  
  
“It all makes sense to me now. It’s simply brilliant. Darium, your plan could possibly be the greatest idea anyone has ever had. Do not fail me and I will see to it that you are rewarded just as handsomely as I will be.”  
  
“I will not fail you sir.”  
  
“Good. Lets eat! Tomorrow will be a long day for you I’m sure.”  
  
Nodding, the two of them dug in, unaware that Mindy had been listening the whole time.  
  
 _~A plan huh…. They hope to be rewarded well for this plan. Heheh I think I might just drop in and see exactly what it is those two are working on.. ~_  
  
Taking a bite of her chicken she nibble quietly. Tomorrow really would be a long day. A day she couldn’t wait for.  
  
***


	12. 12

Nothing but a light gust of wind. That was all the British man felt as he exited the cabin, and he breathed a sigh of relief, the earlier tension mostly gone now. Stars dotted the heavens in a larger number than earlier as the moon was now high in the sky. The earlier exchange still fresh in his mind, John reaffirmed to him self,  
  
 _~Jesse wont have to know.. Nobody does. I just haven’t relieved my self in that manner for some time, that’s all. ~_  
  
John approached the pond, slowly removing his brand new black shirt, and hanging it on a nearby branch of a tree. He then proceeded to remove his pants, boxers, socks and boots, trying his hardest not to think about the events that had transpired no more than 15 minutes ago.  
  
Stepping into the water, TB noticed that it was a lot warmer than he had initially expected, and he waded out until the surface was just around his torso, soap firmly in hand. As he began to lather up, his eyes wandered to the rock where Jesse had been sitting before.   
  
Images of the blonde in ecstasy flashed through his mind again, as the red hot blush returned to his cheeks once more.   
  
He shook his head willing the images away, but in spite of it all, he began to toy with the idea of swimming over there. The rock looked like it would be a good place to sit and think, and the brit was quickly coming to the conclusion that he had a lot he needed to think about.  
  
Leaning back and letting his head go under, John began to concentrate on the energies and sensations around him, letting the cooler temperature of the deeper water calm his nerves. As he floated down, exhaling a little of the air in his lungs to help him sink, he opened his eyes taking in the beautiful scenery along the bottom. The past week began to play through his head as he slowly made his way towards the rock in the middle of the large body of water.  
  
The road leading into Vindius… Aleena’s warm smile.. The Harris family.. Mrs. Buchan’s tear stained face.. Venturing into Alumawyn woods for the first time…Brogan’s hearty chuckle..   
  
And Jesse.  
  
Standing back to back during their first real battle.. The slight chuckle under his voice as he said ‘ding’ upon leveling the first time.. Holding John up during the ambush of gnolls a few nights ago, urging the man to level up with him.  
  
With his goofy grin and carefree attitude and that underlying determination. The Brit smiled to him self in contemplation. Together, the two of them would win this game and come out of it better friends than ever.  
  
Swimming to the surface, John finally reached Jesse’s rock - as he dubbed it - and climbed upon it, still holding his soap tightly in hand. He began to lather the other half of his body, his mind decidedly returning to the previous task at hand.  
  
Level 5 was very soon, and the two of them would be gaining a secondary skill of some type. John was almost positive he would be learning alchemy– as the more exp he gained, the more he began to understand the inner workings of stats like mana and strength. He idly began to wonder what Jesse’s second skill would be. Probably some special sword ability or technique. Though curious, he figured it would be something useful to each of them, and the only way to really know for sure would be for the both of them to just reach the damn level and find out.  
  
Tomorrow would be a busy day. Finally clean, John slid off the rock back into the water and swam back to shore. A small smile formed on his lips as he approached the tree where his clothes were neatly placed and he noted to himself how nice Jesse was to have retrieved the gear from Arumid. At that point, his mind shifted to the strange merchant in question.   
  
He still didn’t trust the man, but he was unsure of him self and the sensations he felt from him upon that response to the red heads comment. The best coarse of action would be for the two of them to see what it was the man had to offer in terms of work, and go from there. No sense in making rash judgements.  
  
Putting on his boxers, he carried the rest of the gear back into the cabin, uncaring about his state of dress in front of his companion. He figured he may as well get ready for bed, and Jesse had already seen him in boxers other mornings before, so retuning to the cabin like this shouldn’t be a big deal.   
  
As TB started to think of excuses to give, he stopped him self noting that he wasn’t even sure why he was thinking about it so much. It’s not like the American saw him earlier…   
  
_~I should just act normal. Jesse doesn’t know.. he WONT know.. I need to stop worrying about this so much.~_   
  
Opening the door, John peered inside. Jesse’s energies had been somewhat still part way through the Brits bath, and upon seeing the blonde conked out on the bed, he now understood why. He, him self wasn’t all that tired, but still… given the days.. _events._. It had left him a lot more fatigued than normal.   
  
The dark haired man slowly walked over to the bed, quickly realizing once again that there was only ONE of them, and a small panic began to rise in him as he debated staying up the whole night instead.  
  
As Jesse lay sleeping, a small warm smile was present on his lips. His clean hair looked golden and soft and John began to wonder if he touched it, would it actually be as soft as it looked? A deep blush returned to John’s cheeks. Maybe staying up would be a good idea…  
  
 _~I could always just say that I want to keep our sleep schedule the same so when we leave here I wont have trouble keeping watch at night..~_  
  
A few brief moments passed as John just stared at Jesse’s sleeping form; visions of the blonde sitting on his rock, face flushed red in passion as he mouthed something incoherent from the distance he was away, playing once again in the Brits mind. Why was this such a big deal? The two had shared a bed before. And out there? That was just a once off.. John hadn’t had sex in about a month.. What happened was no different than watching porn.  
  
Of your best friend…  
  
Who is a male..  
  
Closing his eyes, John scolded him self.  
  
 _~Come on now man, act normal! Jesse wont have to know.. As it is, you probably just DO need sleep and the lack of it has your mind on overdrive. Just crawl into the bed, roll over and get some rest. You need to be up early tomorrow anyways if the two of us are to reach level 5 any time soon~_  
  
He then slowly, carefully, sat down on the bed as Jesse instinctively rolled to the side giving the man more room. John put his feet up, pulling the covers over him self and rolled so his back was facing Jesse. Closing his eyes, he then concentrated on the random energies of the night. Soon enough, finally, sleep claimed him.  
  
***  
  
The hours of the night ticked by.  
  
One by one, the stars faded giving way to the rising sun as another day came, marking the beginning of a new week. In a puff of smoke, Darium had returned to his post, hoping the two adventurers would approach him about the work he had offered earlier that day.  
  
Upon arriving, the crimson haired merchant immediately bent down and opened one of the chests behind his counter, placing some new wares inside.   
  
Darium had grabbed a few choice items from his quarters before returning back to Alumawyn. If they both were to accept his offer, he would need other rewards to give them… and if he wanted to gain their trust, he would need to appear as honest as possible.   
  
Darium smiled to him self.   
  
As the memories of his Lord’s speech echoed in his mind, his goal had never been clearer and if he was to succeed, Mr. Sether was right about them both being rewarded handsomely.  
  
The real question now was, what task should he have Mojo and TB complete?  
  
Darium continued to tidy his area as various plans and ideas floated through the red heads mind.  
  
 _~I noticed a group of centaurs roaming the outskirts of Widows Point.. I could always mind control them and send the two to kill them and bring me their hides… They’ve both gotten a lot stronger over the last few days of training I’ve observed. Maybe they could handle that..~_  
  
As Darium continued to contemplate his options, a small dark figure stood about twenty feet away in a tree, watching.  
  
Standing up, the red head turned towards the front of his shop, noticing the slight fluctuation in energy. Turning to the left, he scanned the trees but yet found nothing as the energy was gone just as quickly as he felt it.  
  
What the hell was that? No one in these parts had energy of that strength apart from him self and maybe Mr. Sether, but it vanished too quickly for him to get a lock on the signature to see who or what it was. Had his boss come by just to check in on him so soon after the announcement?   
  
Frowning, Darium sighed and decided to ignore it. Nobody that strong would be stupid enough to attack him. Surely anyone with magic strong enough to see through his own suppression cloak he had up could also see exactly who he was and why they shouldn’t mess with him.  
  
Turning, he grabbed a few other items to set up on display. His guests would be waking up soon he figured, and hopefully they would come by his shop.  
  
He had to be ready in time. He’d worry about whatever that was later.  
  
***   
  
From the tree, Mindy sat with a small smile on her face; her Lilac eyes glinting with mischief. So this was what he was up to, hmm..  
  
 _~I wonder… Setting up a shop in this dump of a forest seems kind of like a strange thing to do….. And Darium was never really one for going the strait and narrow… Just what exactly are those two planning?.._ ~  
  
As the red head in question turned to look in her direction, Mindy’s eyes flashed brightly before returning to normal as the merchant turned back to what he was doing, now looking slightly confused and also mildly annoyed.  
  
 _~It seems he’s gotten stronger since the last time I saw him.. No matter. Until the order is given, I could do with some fun. Thing’s have just been so boring lately.~_  
  
The young Sage giggled darkly under her breath, continuing to observe the man.   
  
“Yeah, heh..” She whispered under her breath, “Today is going to be a lot of.. _fun.._..”  
  
***  
  
His belly was grumbling.   
  
Sure, he was hungry but the bed was just so comfortable, he had almost forgotten how nice it was to sleep on something soft. Snuggling into the pillow next to him, Jesse sighed happily as he let him self slowly rouse awake.  
  
Once again his belly grumbled and the blonde frowned a little, debating actually moving and grabbing some food to shut the damn thing up. Jesse hugged the body pillow a little closer to him self, enjoying his last few moments of rest, noting how soft it felt in his arms. He didn’t know how long it would be before him and John had to move on, so he intended to enjoy a real bed for as long as he could.  
  
As the American started to become more coherent, he suddenly began to realize that this bed didn’t have a body pillow though. But if that wasn’t a body pillow, then……  
  
Slowly, Jesse began to open his eyes to be greeted by a half naked John, laying in his arms fast asleep. His skin was clean–obviously from the bath he must have taken last night– and smelled lightly of cinnamon and spice, reminding Jesse about that dream a few days ago.  
  
As he laid there unmoving, taking in the whole situation, Jesse’s mind flashed back to the previous night, images from his fantasy running through his brain.  
  
 _~His skin really **is** that soft…~ _He thought offhandedly, a light blush flushing his cheeks– nothing new for the blonde anymore as he subconsciously pulled the man a little closer.  
  
Suddenly, much to Jesse’s worry, the raven haired man began to stir awake him self, moving slightly at the American’s touch. In response, Jesse loosened his arms from around the Brit slightly. His back may have been turned to the blonde, but Jesse’s arms were still lightly wrapped around him, unsure of what else to do.  
  
He expected John to yell at him. He expected to be pushed off the bed. Much to his surprise, instead what he got was was a quiet mumble from the man, followed by rolling in closer, grabbing Jesse’s arms and pulling them around him tighter.  
  
Was he still asleep?  
  
Choosing not to question it, Jesse just lightly hugged the man, holding him close and enjoying the feel of the object of his desire in his arms. The blush still lightly painting his cheeks, the blonde thought quietly to him self.  
  
He knew it was selfish.

John probably thought Jesse was his wife right now. When he comes to realize it’s not, Jesse was probably going have some explaining to do. None of that mattered to him at the moment though… This would probably be the only time he would be allowed to hold John like this, and hungry or not, he’d be damned if he let him self ruin this moment.  
  
Closing his eyes, Jesse allowed himself to rest for just a bit longer. He’d deal with John’s wrath for this later.  
  
***  
  
The room’s energy was calm.   
  
The bed was soft and the room was calm and John was letting himself enjoy that calmness. He had been a lot more tired than he initially thought, and it was nice to actually have a real bed to sleep in for a change. The energies in the room were steady, and there was even a small spike of contentedness that surrounded him and washed over his senses. John smiled, enjoying the feelings as he knew they would be short lived.  
  
Today would be a long and tedious day, as they both should be reaching level 5 soon… And after everything that happened yesterday, they would probably–  
  
John’s mind halted.  
  
Jesse had just snuggled closer to him, nuzzling into the back of his neck. The blonde’s beard lightly prickled it sending a small shiver down his spine as goosebumps formed on the Brits arms and legs and a small blush rose to his cheeks.  
  
As he laid there, his mind went completely blank. What was he thinking about again? Soon after, Jesse wrapped his arms around the man pulling him closer. His breathing steady, a wave of contented energy washing over John, invading his entire sensory system.  
  
As John’s mind continued to take in the whole situation, the haze of sleep was still heavily present and the only thing the brunette was now paying attention to, was how Jesse was making him feel.  
  
Jesse was calming.  
  
Jesse was warm.  
  
Jesse was soft as John shifted a little closer into the blonde’s touch.  
  
Jesse’s energy just spiked with fear as his embrace on the brit just became a lot looser.  
  
John frowned a little at the lack of contact, mumbling under his breath. He then grabbed the American’s arms, rolling into him and pulling them tighter around him.  
  
A brief moment passed before Jesse’s energies steadied, and once again became a warm mix of calm and happy.   
  
John smiled contentedly, once again enjoying the moment. Tomorrow didn’t have to come yet. Right now he just wanted to relax.  
  
The two had laid like that for what felt like hours until eventually consciousness set in and the Brit began to actually wake up.  
  
The first thing he noticed were the arms around him. The second thing he noticed was that Jesse was awake. His energies were a mix of calm and contentedness, but they were also active and flowing as the blondes thoughts must have been wandering about.  
  
 _~He’s probably wondering how we ended up like this.. Maybe he thinks I’m still sleeping?~_  
  
As John’s thoughts ran over the situation, a small blush returned to his cheeks again as once more, the images of last night flashed through his mind, and then a vague memory of earlier that morning, him–half asleep–pulling Jesse’s arms over him, snuggling in close. Panic began to once again set in. What the hell was going on with him?  
  
 _~What if he knows? What if I said something in my sleep?! Oh god, what do I do?~_ The Brit closed his eyes again, unsure of how to approach the situation. Unmoving, he began to concentrate on Jesse’s steady energies, trying to use them to help ease his mind.  
  
 _~ok John, calm down and think rationally.. He doesn’t know what happened and he wont unless you bollocks this up. Just act like everything’s normal and eventually everything will be. You were half asleep earlier and you haven’t cuddled with your wife in a week. Just get up, and don’t make a scene of it.~_  
  
As the final thought left his mind, John rolled on to his back and laid there for a pause before sitting up in the bed with a yawn.  
  
Jesse’s energy understandably spiked with fear as the Brit rolled to his back, but after sitting up and looking over, John realized the he was pretending to sleep.  
  
Cracking a small smile, the TB called his bluff.  
  
“Good morning, Jesse.” He simply said.   
  
Jesse’s energies spiked slightly as he then pretended to stir. With an exaggerated yawn, the blonde sat up beside him, a small blush still present on his cheeks.   
  
“G..good morning John, I hope you slept alright.. I’m sorry if I hogged the bed a little.” Was his reply.  
  
The dark haired man stretched a little, looking around the room.  
  
“It’s ok. I slept fine actually..” John said with a smile, “I was actually thinking of preparing some food and then heading out to see if we could find some work for the day. Level 5’s not far away.”  
  
Jesse’s belly grumbled at the mention of food and he nodded. He didn’t understand why, but whatever gods were working in his favor, he was grateful for the change of subject. John clearly woke up with Jesse cuddling up next to him, but he wasn’t getting angry about it or even addressing the situation really. Nope. Not gonna question it.  
  
“I could use some food.” He had said, getting off the bed first.  
  
As he started to get dressed, he watched John from the corner of his eye. The man had been acting kind of strange yesterday evening, and now today as well. Jesse wasn’t exactly sure why. Perhaps it was stress. In any case, John was right, today would be busy.   
  
Pulling on his boots, Jesse grinned at his companion, picking up his bag and heading towards the door.  
  
As he finished gearing up him self, the Brit grinned back. He slung his bag over his shoulder and placed the top hat clean on his head before walking over to where Jesse was standing and the two of them exited the cabin.  
  
The sun was already a fair ways into the sky and the birds were chirping as Jesse pulled out one of the Mt. Apples that had been purchased the day before. Taking a bite, he tossed one to TB who caught it gracefully taking a bite of his own.  
  
“I was thinking maybe we could take a chance on that merchant.” John said between chewing, “If the gear we have now is any indication of the reward he will give us, his work could be quite useful for reaching level 5.”  
  
Jesse nodded back in agreement. Arumid didn’t seem like such a bad guy. Maybe his comment was just said in sarcasm and the two of them just didn’t detect it.   
  
“It’s worth a shot to see.” He replied to John, “He said to come by today if we were interested.”  
  
“Lead then way, then.”   
  
And the two of them headed off towards his potion shop.  
  
***  
  
Darium could sense them from a mile away as he put down the rag he was using to polish one of the pieces of armor he had brought with him and looked over at the approaching duo with a smile.  
  
Everything was going according to plan. It was perfect! The stronger he helped them get, the more they would grow to trust him. Yet, little did they know– the stronger he helped them get, the stronger their Crystal Blades would also get. And eventually when the time was right, he would swipe the blades right from under their noses and bring them to his Lord. His Lord would then ascend to Godhood, and bestow upon him a reward like nothing ever witnessed before.  
  
Grinning widely, he greeted them happily.  
  
“Well I see you’ve returned. Come to take my little offer? I could really use your help and I’ll reward you in kind.”  
  
John nodded, extending his hand.  
  
“We have.. and I wanted to thank you for the armor. I feel my mana is a lot stronger with this shirt, and it’s really well crafted.”  
  
“Well I’m glad you like it.” Arumid said, taking John’s hand and shaking it, his eyes glinting with joy.  
  
“What was it you needed from us?” Jesse piped up as he finished off the last of his apple, tossing the pit on the ground.  
  
Arumid looked over to the west near a path out of the clearing before answering with a frown,  
  
“I’ve heard roomers of some rogue centaurs who’ve been mugging merchants heading to Widows Point to sell their wares. It’s dangerous for shop keepers like my self to be coming and going when there are barbaric creatures about, who want to take everything you have with no regard for your own life. Our inventory is all we have to live on.  
  
If you both could take them down, it would make the forest a little safer. I’m sure the other shop keepers would all agree that it would be a good thing. What do you say?”  
  
John considered his words before turning to Jesse who nodded in agreement with the same thought.  
  
“That’s not very nice of them.. I do see your point. Sure, we’ll help you with your centaur problem. Where were they last spotted?”  
  
Arumid smiled at John before looking out into the forest.   
  
“Well just yesterday night the leather worker who’s shop was set up to the west of here was on his way back to Ebora to get some more supplies… when out of nowhere, the centaurs had appeared, and demanded he give them all the money he had earned.   
  
Naturally, he said no and then they all had attacked him. He managed to get away, but not before they did some damage… I was just packing my things up for the evening when I saw him limping back to his shop and that was when he told me.”  
  
“I see.” John said. Arumid just nodded. Jesse then pulled out one of his swords before saying,  
  
“Then they wont like what I’ll do to them for that.. My blade’s been aching for some action.”  
  
“And I want to test out my new gear.” John added clenching his fist, a small flame igniting around it.   
  
Arumid chuckled lightly and pointed off down the path.  
  
“I think you’ll find them down there, but be careful. They’ll probably be armed. If you need any backup, just holler and I’ll see if I can’t get you some potions on the house to boost your strength and mana.”  
  
“Thanks.” Jesse said as John nodded as well.  
  
The two then headed down towards the path. Arumid staring after them with a grin. Eventually, both Jesse and John were out of sight.  
  
 _~Now for step two..~_ He thought to him self quietly, then in a puff he was gone.  
  
Mindy continued to sit on the tree branch, 20 feet from his shop quietly.  
  
 _~So these are the two that my Lord was speaking about hmm.. Centaurs? Heh, I think this could be fun. Why don’t we make this game a little harder for them…. No one likes an easy victory, right?~_  
  
She then hopped down from the tree, landing cleanly on her feet, the dust from the ground kicking up slightly. Casually, she trotted down the path Jesse and John went. She had to get to the Centaur before Darium did.  
  
This was going to be fun.  
  
****


	13. 13

The wind blew lightly through the trees as Jesse and John carefully made their way down the path towards where the centaur supposedly had their camp set up. If what Aru had said was true, they would need to take care of them quickly before the other merchants in the area became victim as well.   
  
John concentrated on the energies of the forest, searching for the mobs in question. After some time, he thought quietly to him self noting that the camp where they were staying must not be as close to Widows Point as Arumid initially thought. There was no trace of human energy anywhere near there, nor anything remotely similar, and if the centaur that had attacked the leather worker had been close by, the brit would have been able to sense them by that point. Still, the duo continued along the trail as the minutes ticked by. Eventually, a half hour passed. Then an hour. Sensing nothing yet still, the raven haired wizard frowned.  
  
“I somehow get the feeling we were sent on a wild goose chase.." John eventually said.   
  
Nodding in agreement, Jesse stepped over a set of branches from a nearby fallen tree that were covering the path.  
  
"I kinda think you may be right… You think we should head back?”  
  
In spite of the initial request, the two still continued to trek forward. A few brief moments passed before the brit replied.  
  
“I dunno.. It would be safer I believe, if we still continue to look around for a little longer. To come all this way just to return without being completely sure would be a waste, and- frankly- I am interested to see what kind of a reward we’d get from this quest if we happened to actually complete it considering how long it’s taking us just to locate the damn mobs.”  
  
Jesse sighed but nodded again just as the road forked off into two. A light breeze was blowing about the area, the faint sound of birds chirping and chattering throughout the forest. The sun had finally reached the highest point in the sky, signaling noon.  
  
“So which way then?" The blonde finally asked.  
  
John closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling for any kind of energy at all that might possibly give them a lead on where to go. Finally, he managed to pick up something. He then opened his eyes with a confident smile towards Jesse.  
  
"I think I feel something to the right.”   
  
“Good. Lets go then." Jesse said with a nod, returning the gaze with his own relieved one "We’ve been searching for a while now and I’m starting to get hungry.”  
  
The two then headed down the right fork. Off in the distance, however, Darium followed not far behind. If everything went according to plan, both TB and Mojo would find the centaur, and kill them, thus making their crimson blades that much stronger. Just as long as he kept a close eye on the two of them, those swords would be his for the taking, and his Dark Lord would be able to ascend.  
  
 _~Perfect…~_  
  
****  
  
Soon enough, the centaur camp site had came within view. John quietly ducked behind a tree and peered out from the side, watching carefully. Jesse ducked down, following suit.  
  
“Hmm.. They don’t look hostile.." John whispered. Jesse merely shrugged.  
  
"Well, what should we do then? Go in, guns-a-blazing?”  
  
John looked down at the ground in contemplation. The centaur seemed to be merely minding their own business, cleaning the carcass of a recently hunted deer, getting it ready to be cooked.  
  
Suddenly, their eyes turned a glowing red and -somehow- they knew where John and Jesse were hiding!  
  
There were about 9 of them who came burling towards the duo, as if their attention had been turned, dropping everything just to attack the two of them unprovoked.  
  
“SHIT!" John said as he immediately took on the defensive, a blue glow of ice magic beginning to surround his palms. Jesse reached for his blades and instinctively stepped ahead to protect his friend from harm. In spite of the sudden ambush, Jesse couldn’t help but crack a smile. He’d been itching for a fight, as he could feel him self close to level 5, and he chuckled darkly under his breath,  
  
"Oh, this is gonna be. _ **.fun.”**_   
  
John assessed their situation, thinking quickly. Ice magic would slow them down, and give the two of them a chance to see how strong the beasts were. The brit then motioned for Jesse to back up, while stepping back a few paces him self.  
  
“How the hell did they know we were here?" He said absentmindedly, casting the frost bolt at the ground as the centaur ran carelessly over it, their legs beginning to freeze up slowing their movements.  
  
"No idea bro, but I don’t think we have much time to think about that at this–MOMENT!”  
  
The largest one managed to cast a ball of fire clear towards Jesse as the others surrounded the two of them, not giving either players a chance to escape. Jesse and John shared a glance before backing up against one another, defensive poses at the ready.  
  
“They can use magic too apparently." Jesse stated, gripping his blade a little tighter.  
  
"Well _yeah_ , how the hell do you think I found them?" John stated back, to which Jesse just chuckled.  
  
"Alright then. I’ll hit them from the front, and you concentrate on slowing them down for me. I’m still not sure how to fight against magic users.”  
  
John nodded in agreement. It seemed like an ok plan. As the one in front began to cast another firebolt, John raised his hand to the sky calling down a blast of snow that intercepted the projectile that was aimed obviously at Jesse’s head. The ice had instantly melted into water that rained down upon the group as the other 8 centaur began to shoot arrows towards the duo. Being quick on his feet, Jesse side stepped while swinging his sword, cutting the arrows down from the sky before they landed on either of the two of them. All the while, a dark figure stood watching in a tree nearby.  
  
“Yes.. this is absolutely perfect. So long as I make sure they’re mind controlled adequately, Mojo and TB shouldn’t have a problem defeating them.”  
  
Little did he know, there was another person sitting in one of the trees opposite him about 400 feet away. Mindy sighed at the battle looking rather bored. The two ‘heroes’ continued to fight and were barely taking any damage at all.   
  
“Well this is no fun. Those centaur clearly have enough power to kill those worthless twerps. What’s the deal with sandbagging the fight?”  
  
She continued to watch, quietly.  
  
*****  
  
Jesse jumped into the air slashing forward, wounding one of them rather badly as John occasionally cast fire spells in their direction.  
  
“These guys… they have a lot more HP than anything else we’ve fought." Jesse said, beating back more arrows from the sky. John cast another blast of cold at one of them and nodded.  
  
"It seems so. We’ve managed to wear the lot of them down though. I think at least 3 of them are mortally wounded, as they’ve stopped attacking and are trying to heal up it seems.”  
  
“I gues–AAkk!!!”  
  
Eventually one of the arrows managed to land it’s mark, piercing Jesse in his right arm. The centaur roared barbarically, it’s eyes flashing between red and what looked like the color they were originally, before quickly returning back to the full red glow from earlier. John frowned with worry at his injured friend. Something was off about all this.  
  
“You ok?” he asked, a fireball leaving his palm.  
  
Jesse’s arm began to burn a little as he felt weakness set in slightly. Ignoring it, he flashed John a wincing smile.  
  
“Ugh.. it hurts.. I should be ok though.” He replied, “I’ll just have to make up for this with my left arm.”  
  
John continued to cast frost magic around, with the occasional fire ball landing upon some of them as the magic user continued to rain fire in their general direction.  
  
“You better be.” Was all John replied. He had a lot more he had to concentrate on now.  
  
******  
  
Darium grinned with glee as he watched his fight unfold from afar. Sure, Mojo was injured, but he’d be fine. It was almost time for him to mind control them to stop attacking so that TB could finish them off. Strangely though, it seemed as if the centaur were getting stronger or something.  
  
******  
  
“Hmm now things are getting a little more interesting…” Mindy said, a small dark smile tugging the corners of her mouth.  
  
“I wonder what would happen if I….."smiled wickedly as she twirled her finger in a circular motion, her eyes glowing lilac.  
  
*****  
  
Jesse’s arm was hurting a lot worse now. The weakness from the arrow seemed to be spreading as his world was beginning to turn fuzzy.  
  
"Uhh.. John…” He said. John glanced over at his companion, the blood from the arrow wound pouring down the blondes arm, “I think maybe I’m not as ok as I thought I was…”  
  
Without farther prompt, John rushed to his side and began to examine the arrow hole. To make moving around easier, Jesse had cut part of the tail off and had said he would remove the rest after the fight was over. Now Jesse’s eyes were starting to have a glazed look to them.  
  
“That arrow must have been tipped with poison.” He simply said. Jesse looked at his blurry friend worriedly,  
  
“I thought my glasses just fell off in the fight. The world is kinda spinning right now.. not gonna lie…”  
  
The centaur slowly closed in on the two of them, John now holding Jesse up for balance.  
  
“Shit shit shit….” he muttered under his breath.  
  
At that point, Jesse passed out completely. John was now alone, with 9 angry centaur and no tank. He could still feel Jesse’s pulse, so he knew his friend wasn’t dead, but he needed medical attention and soon. What the fuck was he gonna do?  
  
As the large centaur cast another bolt of fire at John, he realized he didn’t have enough time to react. The flame connected clean to his chest making him collapse on the ground, the world spinning in a daze. Jesse had went flying from the blast, and was now hidden beneath the brush of the forest, unconscious, nowhere to be seen.  
  
As the giant centaur raised his hand to the sky, fire about to cast down upon the brit, his eyes suddenly stopped glowing. Blinking, he looked around confused at his companions who were all doing the same thing. They looked burned from fire with many deep cuts from a sword or so it seemed.  
  
The large creature looked down at the dark haired man noticing his crimson blade at his side. He glared deadly at the man, a frown forming slowly on his face.  
  
John’s dizziness got worse as he felt the remains of his mana deplete out. The last thing he saw was the centaur reaching down towards him with an angry expression, before the world faded to black.  
  
******  
  
Darium looked on at the whole ordeal. Mojo had landed 20 feet from the small clearing TB’s frost had made, and was obstructed from view when TB was hit with the fire.  
  
That wasn’t supposed to happen. At this point, he realized the centaur were no longer under his spell. He tried to cast it again, but it was as if something stronger was blocking it. He had no idea what was going on. At this point, the centaur would kill them! If everything was supposed to go to plan, he COULDN’T let that happen yet!  
  
But how? He couldn’t just blow his cover like that. TB would know immediately. Or at least ask why he didn’t try to help sooner. He couldn’t risk that. The two of them barely trusted him as it was.  
  
Fuck.  
  
*******  
  
Mindy chuckled under her breath. Now THAT was better. These two were supposed to be the supposed 'heroes’. The Dark Lord wouldn’t mind if she tested that theory. After all, chances are if she took their blades for her self, she might be able gain his favor instead. Or better yet, become a Goddess her self.  
  
The thought was tempting. Take all three of their blades.. These two would be easy. It would be the Dark Lord’s who would be the hard one to hijack. First, she needed to learn more about this.. “legend”. And this little stunt here would buy her time.  
  
Turning to look one more time in Darium’s direction, she then raised her hand. In a pull of smoke, she then vanished. Darium would have to get them out of this mess him self.  
  
******  
  
The centaur looked down on the now unconscious wizard, a frown on his face. How the hell did he manage to end up here. One moment, he was getting dinner ready for his hunting party, the next thing he knew, he was standing over this… Human and his brothers in arms were mortally hurt. Why would he attack them? They did nothing to deserve this. He held the man’s limp body up by one arm, inspecting him with a keen eye. Turning to his wounded brethren he said,   
  
“Come now. We’ve stayed long enough here. We’ll head back home. Let us take this… man.. Back with us. He has a lot of explaining to do.”  
  
The others nodded in agreement as the largest one flung John clean over his shoulder. They then headed towards their camp, taking the things they owned and packing them all away.  
  
Darium only looked on quietly. They had TB, and Mojo was.. somewhere.. What the hell was he gonna do?   
  
“Oh god.. what would Mr. Sether say?!”  
  
Darium began to fret as the centaur finally were no longer in view. He had to find Mojo before he died from poison. Leaping down from the tree, he landed clean on the ground. He then began to search around for the worrier. A few minutes passed when finally, he saw a flash of gold hair in the brush to the right of him.  
  
Darium picked the man up and hoisted him over his shoulder. He had to take him back to Widows Point, as he had no Antidote potions on him. Darium raised his hand and in a puff of smoke he was gone.  
  
If anyone had been watching the little shop, they would have seen two men pop into existence behind the counter. They were back at Widows Point, as relatively safe and sound and one could be in this circumstance.  
  
Darium laid Mojo on the ground and reached into his pack for a potion. Slowly feeding it to the man, Darium sat and waited.  
  
The people bustled by one by one as the day wore on. Jesse continued to rest as “Arumid” occasionally sold some goods, waiting for the potion to fully take effect. The hours ticked by until eventually, the man finally began to come too.  
  
“Uuuhhh..J..John…" Jesse quietly moaned, "My..My head hurts…"   
  
Jesse slowly opened his eyes to see Arumid standing over him, a worried expression painted over his face.  
  
"H..huh? Aru..mid? " Jesse slowly sat up, holding his hand to his head in pain, "Wh..Where’s TB?”  
  
The worried expression darkened before the red head answered him.  
  
“Mojo.. I hate to be the one to tell you this but… They took him.”  
  
Jesse’s eyes snapped fully open at that.  
  
“They _what?_ ”  
  
Arumid turned his back to Jesse and walked towards the front of his shop.  
  
“Look… I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should never have asked you both to take them out.. Your friend is gone now… If I hadn’t come looking for you to see what had been taking you both so long, I might not have found you in time.”  
  
Jesse’s expression flickered between fear and anger.  
  
“Where did they go?" he said darkly.  
  
"I didn’t quite see. I ran to get you back here in time, I wasn’t sure if I would make it. Look.. I know this is hard to accept, but TB is gone. Probably dead by now.”  
  
“No…” Jesse said quietly, the fear setting in.  
  
“It’s probably just best to forget about him. Here, this is your reward." Aru tossed Jesse a bag of gold and some strength rings, "I know you didn’t kill them, but that doesn’t matter now. If I were you I’d leave here.. Return to Vindius or Ebora and make a life for your self. Take the money I gave you and live it up… I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”  
  
Ignoring him, Jesse attempted to stand up. Wobbly at first, he reached for his crimson blade, gripping it tightly.  
  
“I refuse to give up. Johnerr–TB.. He can’t be dead.. I refuse to believe that for a second…”  
  
Bending over, he picked up the gold, placing the strength rings on his fingers. He then looked at Arumid with a determined smile.  
  
“Thank you for saving me.. but I’m going back. If those centaur even lay a finger on him.. they’ll have to deal with me. And believe me… they don’t want to see me when I’m angry.”  
  
Arumid stared on in awe at the man. He was gutsy for sure.. but he was also insane. Those centaur were at least three times stronger than him and he didn’t even have TB with him for backup.  
  
“You’re nuts." He simply said.  
  
"And people love me because of it." Jesse replied, and he turned back out towards the forest. Arumid watched on as he walked off.  
  
”… Good luck kid. Be careful.“  
  
Jesse, not turning back just raised his hand in a wave. As he continued to walk off, Aru frowned. What the hell was he going to do now?  
  
 _~I should follow him.. just to make sure he doesn’t get him self killed.~_  
  
As soon as Jesse was out of sight, the crimson haired man vanished again, in a puff of smoke, leaving the shop empty once more.  
  
*****


	14. 14

_Drip..  
  
Drip..  
  
Drip..  
  
Drip.._  
  
The air around him was cool and damp, and it was kind of dark as John started to become more coherent. The only sound that could be heard was the dripping of water on to what sounded like a rocky surface, but it wasn’t as constant as the sound of rain.  
  
A cave.   
  
It took almost all the effort the brit had just to open his eyes.   
  
_Drip..  
  
Drip..  
  
Drip..  
_  
As he managed to slowly sit up, John’s vision focused on the walls of the cell he had been thrown into.   
  
Everywhere, stone surrounded him, save for the crude wooden bars that lined the opening of the ..room?.. that he was laying in. The cave seemed to stretch into what looked like the abyss, darkness hugging all corners of the small place, the only light coming from one of the cracks on the ceiling.  
  
It was night time. That much he could tell, but how long had he been laying there? And more importantly where was Jesse?  
  
The earlier events came rushing back to him as he remembered the fight with those rogue centaur, his friend being shot by a poison arrow and passing out.   
  
Oh god, was Jesse ok?   
  
His eyes once again darting to the wooden bars of the cell, John clenched his fist as fire began to burn around it. Throwing the blast towards the front of the cage, the fire connected cleanly. Only a matter of time now before he would be free.  
  
Except the fire went out before catching; the bars seemingly untouched.   
  
They _were_ made of wood, weren’t they?   
  
The brit slowly got up and wandered towards the offending blockage, inspecting the bars to be sure. Definitely wood. So why didn’t his fireball work?  
  
Upon closer inspection, he noticed an energy coming off of them. Who ever put him in here obviously knew he could use fire magic.  
  
Closing his eyes, John concentrated to see if there was anyone around. After a few minutes, he came to the conclusion that he was alone. He also noticed aside from the gear he was wearing, his inventory and weapons where taken from him.  
  
“Well shit..” he mumbled to him self with a frown.  
  
The memories of his and Jesse’s fight still fresh in his mind, John walked back over to the wall and sat down. Whoever put him in here was bound to return, or else they would have just killed him when he was unconscious earlier. He only hoped that the poison didn’t kill his blonde companion in the mean time.  
  
“I suppose all I can do at this point is wait. God.. Jesse I hope you’re ok…”  
  
John closed his eyes and continued to concentrate. The air was cool and damp and the ground was hard. The faint energy from the magic dampened bars was the only signature he could detect and he felt a sense of unease as his mind continued to run over the events from earlier. In the middle of his thoughts, a voice echoed from in front of the cage.  
  
“So you’re finally awake.”  
  
John’s eyes snapped open. The large centaur! How had he not sensed his presence? The brit opened his mouth to say something but the beast cut him off.  
  
“Before you open your mouth and say something you might regret, I’ll have you know that you can do no harm to me from behind those bars. As I am sure you have already found out, any spell you say or cast is simply negated by the dampen magic field cast upon those bars. Young wizard, you better have a good explanation for attacking me and my men without cause!”  
  
John frowned, a little confused. The centaur smiled and continued,   
  
“Depending on your answer, I may not actually kill you… …right away at least. Know one thing though - you _will_ answer for your misdeed towards us. You have made an unwise decision in making an enemy of a centaur.”  
  
John’s mind was thinking rapidly. These creatures were diplomatic apparently.   
  
_~So why had they attacked in such a barbaric manner earlier on? And wait a minute.. did he just say Jesse and I attacked **them** unprovoked? I’m almost positive it was him who attacked **us**.~_  
  
Something didn’t add up.  
  
After a moment to find his wording, he finally opened his mouth to speak. It would be wise to be apologetic he figured, as he was in no position to be confrontational. These creatures were apparently a lot more powerful than him self and it wouldn’t do to make them angry… but at the same time he didn’t want to come off as scared. Confidence usually granted respect. He would answer their questions and maybe–just maybe–they would be diplomatic enough and kind enough to answer his.  
  
“…Yes.. I am awake now…. and you are correct that I noticed the cell you have contained me in does not allow me to use my magic or sensing abilities at all. Had you not spoken to me, I wouldn’t have even sensed your presence in front of me, to be quite honest.”  
  
The centaur just stared at John, his expression still mildly irritated, waiting for a farther explanation. After the pause, John continued,  
  
“So you would like an explanation on why you and your men were attacked? I suppose that’s a reasonable enough request… Although to be fair, when you and your men attacked one of the merchants at Widows Point, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that someone at the camp ordered for your death, so to speak. Unfortunately, you’re looking at the person they asked to carry out that wish.”  
  
The centaur stared at John with an unreadable expression. After a moment, his eyes narrowed at the dark haired man, replying.  
  
“You are in no position to mock me, Wizard. I sense that you are intelligent enough to know this. My men and I have done no such thing. You claim that we have attacked the merchants of Widows Point? And that you were asked to attack us back in retaliation?”  
  
John simply nodded; his mind trying to work out the story. According to the large centaur, they had not attacked the leather armorer. But that would mean Arumid was lying and that his hunch about the man was right; that he wasn’t to be trusted. As it appeared, the centaur were of a much higher level than himself and Jesse.  
  
Did he simply send John and Jesse to their deaths? Or was there more going on here then just Aru’s quest he gave the two of them? He continued to watch the beast as it paced back and forth in front of John’s holding cell, thinking carefully.  
  
Finally turning back to John, he spoke.  
  
“Hmm… I can’t tell if you’re bluffing… It appears as if you’re telling the truth… ”  
  
The centaur turned away from John again, beginning to pace back and fourth thinking aloud.  
  
“.. but then that would mean that who ever fed you that nonsense about us is still out there, and probably planning an attack on our village.”  
  
The centaur once again stopped pacing and turned back to John, with a warning expression on his face.  
  
“I refuse to let that happen. As it is, we’ve already been through enough… Now what you’re going to do, is tell me who commissioned you to attack us—and if I even get so much as a hint that you’re lying, I will come back here and kill you my self! It would be in your best interest to cooperate.”  
  
The large centaur stared expectantly at John, as the brit carefully considered his words before speaking.  
  
“The man who told us to attack you– the one who said you attacked the leather armorer at Widows Point: his name is Arumid. We were traveling through Alumawyn when he stumbled upon our camp site one night, and asked us to escort him to Widows Point, as he apparently lost his compass.”  
  
The centaur nodded, listening. As he was about to tell John to continue, he realized John kept saying “us”.  
  
“…Wait a minute, there was another with you?”  
  
At flash of confusion ran across TB’s face. The centaur began to look irritated again, but John was hesitant to answer. Really? They didn’t remember Jesse? Then the strange red eyes the beasts had, and otherwise unprovoked attack on the two of them must mean that the centaur were being controlled by something.   
  
But the question was: What..? Maybe they really didn’t attack the armorer.. Mind control might also explain why they thought John had attacked them first.   
  
“Y..Yes sir,” John stuttered a little, still worried for Jesse’s safety. “His name is Mojo.. He’s my.. partner. We work together and share the gold we make off various jobs commissioned to us by people, like the one we were given to attack you…”  
  
The brit was a little weary about mentioning Jesse to them, considering what they might do. As it was, his friend was probably poisoned, and well on his way to death right now… No! He couldn’t think like that - Jesse had to be alive.. Was he alright? What would happen if they went to hunt him down?   
  
The large centaur seemed confused at first, and frowned at John before saying,  
  
“I don’t remember seeing anyone with you.. Although to be perfectly honest, I don’t remember the attack all that much to begin with either. Most of the event is a haze in my mind–probably some spell you tried to cast on all of us, no doubt. What I do remember though, is seeing all my men badly injured by sword slashes, and you, laying on the ground next to this blade, which is clearly coated with centaur blood on it.”  
  
The large creature then pulled out John’s red starter blade and John’s eyes immediately darted towards it.  
  
The brit felt some sort of draw to the sword. Really, the thing was useless, especially now that he had leveled enough for some decent magic spells. It couldn’t be upgraded, according to Brogan and really, he had no more reason to be carrying the damn thing around anymore, much less using it. Yet he couldn’t quite understand why, but he felt like he couldn’t let that sword be in anyone else’s possession. Like it was important to him.   
  
John wordlessly reached his hand out towards the bars, looking at the sword worriedly.  
  
“HA! You think after all you’ve done to us that I would return your weapon to you just like that? Foolish wizard.. I am indeed grateful to you for the information you provided me with. That earns you a meal. But until I find this Arumid person, you are going to remain in that cell. If I were you, I’d be hoping to the Gods that your story checks out. Us centaur are not unreasonable folk and we tend not to shoot the messenger. If everything you say is true, then once the threat to our people is taken care of, we will let you go.”  
  
Nodding in understanding, John lowered his hand and stared at the floor. Satisfied the centaur nodded, smiling a little, and continued his interrogation.  
  
“Alright.. So this, ‘Arumid’.. What does he look like?”…..  
  
The only thing John could do now was cooperate and hope they don’t go after Jesse.  
 _  
Jesse.. Please be ok.. And for the love of god, please be careful._  
  
****  
  
The moonlight cascaded through the trees as Jesse paced through the forest at a speed much faster than he was used to typically walking. Fallen branches and rocks were kicked out of his way as he continued down the path, his jog an almost-run, never slowing down the entire time.  
  
He had to get back to that clearing. Maybe there, he would find some clue as to which way those damn monsters took his best friend. John still had to be alive.. He just HAD to!  
  
Eventually, Jesse stopped when he reached the familiar fork in the road. Finally! He had been running for about an hour strait, and the hostile mobs of the night had long since started to come out. The American knew it would be dangerous, but at the same time he knew John would do the same thing if it were him who was captured.  
  
“Don’t worry buddy, I’ll find ya.. And when I do, those four legged freaks will pay. Nobody messes with the Cox.. Cuz when you do, ya get fucked.”  
  
After a bit of looking around, the blonde finally found the place where the battle happened. Telling char marks on some of the trees, and a lot of wilted shrubbery from obvious frost magic. Yep. This was the place. Now, which way could why have gone?  
  
“Hmm..”  
  
As he began to look around for clues, Jesse noticed the branches to the eastern side of the clearing looked a little uneven. Walking over to give them a closer inspection, he noted that they looked like they had been trampled by hooves.   
  
Centaur.  
  
“They must’ve went this way.” Jesse exclaimed. He then looked at the ground, trying to discern the direction they headed off towards. The area was dark, but not as much as other parts of the forest. Though the trees, moonlight cascaded down upon the ground as the lingering frost crystals upon the bushes glinted the light giving the area a somewhat eerie glow.   
  
Jesse looked a little closer. The dirt seemed to have darker hues in various patches that seemed headed to the west.   
  
Could that be blood stained dirt?  
  
He then continued to follow the path as it lead down what looked like a tiny trail.  
  
About 500 feet down the road, Darium followed silently. He couldn’t let Mojo die just yet, and if the blonde was going to rescue TB, he was damn well gonna need some help in order to pull it off. As much as he hated to do it, Mr. Sethers head was on the line, and thus his own head was as well.   
  
He still needed to retrieve the Crimson Blades from them before they could be killed, and as it was, the two travelers weren’t even strong enough yet for their blades to be of any use. Letting Mojo run to his death was not an option. Eventually his Dark Lord could ascend, and he wasn’t going to let some centaur ruin that.  
  
Jesse stopped mid run as a Dusk Goblin leaped out of the bushes and attacked the blonde. Grabbing his sword, he slashed the thing without a second thought. His sword turned a glowing red and connected the blow, causing the creature to explode into data particles leaving a small amount of gold behind. Soon enough, another attacked. And then another.  
  
“Damn it.. this must be why the book says not to travel at night..” Jesse said under his breath.  
  
As the goblins claws connected with Jesse’s arm, he grabbed his crimson bladed sword and proceeded to duel wield against the mobs. Darium watched on from the top of a tree a mere 100 feet away in awe.  
  
The blades both shined as Jesse attacked; the exp and particles absorbing, making the blonde stronger with each creature he killed. That red blade seemed to absorb some of the particles its self, as both it and Jesse began to grow stronger.  
  
“Hmm.. Interesting….” Darium said quietly.  
  
Eventually, there were only thee mobs left. Crossing his blades, Jesse roared in attack as he made quick work of the last of the mobs. As their data absorbed slowly into him, he began to feel that familiar feeling.  
  
His body began to glow red as level 5 was finally upon him. Looking at his weapons, he realized how to sense mana him self now. He also realized he had a small amount of mana of his own, and that he could use it to magically charge his blades. Was that there from the beginning, or did he just earn the privilege to use mana now? The sensations had him smiling, but the questions brought him to a frown. This must be that secondary skill the book was talking about. The victory seemed bitter sweet. Thinking to him self, Jesse said quietly,  
  
“John.. I wanted you to be here with me for this.. Please be ok..”  
  
Darium simply watched. So this was the crimson blades power…. No wonder the Dark Lord wanted it for him self. He would have to study the two of them more once this whole ordeal was through.  
  
Jesse continued down the path. He only hoped no more mobs would attack him before he got to his destination. He would find John, and rescue him. Then the two of them could go back to leveling and getting stronger.   
  
“Just hang on buddy… Jesse’s comin’ for ya. I know you’re not dead. You’re a lot stronger than that…”  
  
After about an hour more of wandering the path, eventually the blonde found what it was he was looking for. There seemed to be a couple well traveled gaps in the various foliage, all which appeared to be outfitted with small fire pits used for cooking small game. Pacing farther ahead, there was a slope that dropped down rather steeply. Jesse pulled away some of the leaves from the trees at the edge of the slope, only to be greeted with sky. At appeared he was on top of a higher ground than the rest of the forest.   
  
The tops of the trees seemed to run on forever in a sea of leaves and bark. Only a small set of lights were off in the distance. The blonde smiled.  
  
“That must be their camp. Ok, Jesse. Time to make a plan.”  
  
He carefully climbed down the steep edge of the slope, heading in the direction of the lights. Being careful not to slip, Jesse began to run over various ideas about what he would do when he got to where he was going. Darium silently followed. Once the blonde had reached the bottom, he began to think aloud.  
  
“Ok, so when I get there, I just have to be all stealth like and quiet. Maybe I can get close enough to them to overhear where they’re keeping him…. Or maybe if I’m in luck, John will have already broken free and is coming to find me.”  
  
Jesse frowned, worry etched on his face. What ever happened, he knew that John would have to be ok. He’d never forgive him self if he wasn’t.   
  
Soon enough, Jesse had gotten within range of the camp. As he approached fairly closely, he decided to sit down and watch.   
  
“No good comes from rushing in blindly. At least, that’s what I imagine TB would say… They all seem to be in bed. Now to find where they’re hiding John..”  
  
The camp was large and had various huts made of tree trunks and leaves, and a few fire pits littered about the area still had fire glowing within them. Off to the left, there looked like the side of a really large hill, and there appeared to be the entrance to a cave upon it. There were 5 centaur standing guard of the place, two by the cave, and 3 others walking about the camp.  
  
“Well, my first guess would be that cave over there…. But how am I going to get past them?” Jesse whispered to him self, “I’ll just have to bide my time I guess. Those guards can’t stand there forever. When they eventually switch shifts, that will be when I try to sneak in. Hopefully the ones leaving will be too tired to notice my presence.”  
  
Jesse then settled in on the ground, and covered him self with some stray leaves. He would be waiting for the right moment to move, and that could take hours. Darium watched quietly from the tree tops, mildly amused by Mojo’s persistence. Just as long as he didn’t do anything rash, the red head could easily make sure that he didn’t die. Remembering the odd red glow Mojo had–and more importantly– his sword had earlier, Darium smiled darkly.  
  
“Mr. Sether will be interested to hear what I’ve learned about the Crimson Blades.. I just gotta make sure those two don’t get killed before I go tell him.”  
  
****  
Meanwhile..  
  
****  
  
As the day had dragged on, Mindy chuckled to her self with an amused smirk on her face. It was the perfect plan! Take the magical blades of those two useless 'heroes’ and then when the Dark one wasn’t paying attention, take his blade as well, and become a Goddess her self.  
  
The only question though - How?  
  
Upon reaching the frozen north of Fuar, the Sage had taken immediately to the library to read up about the prophecy that her Dark Lord had spoken about at the midnight feast.  
  
The hours had passed as she looked through book after book, coming up with nothing until finally, she came upon one that had been placed behind a bunch of dusty manuals. The title read: **Order of Crimson - The Blood Blades of Legend.** This had to be it.  
  
 _~~Many moons ago, there once existed a young Wizard by the name of Gal. A prodigy like no one had ever seen, he was said to have excelled in school to become one of the most powerful Sorcerers known in legend.  
  
In his schooling, it is said that he met a young lady named Len who was attending the school to become a Gem smith. The girl had no magical ability at all, but wanted so badly to learn the arts, that her parents enrolled her and let her study abroad so that she could learn to create items that could house magical power. She promised them she would study hard. Through a series of events, Len and Gal had met up. Eventually they became friends and over time, the two fell in love. When the time came for their schooling to be finished, Len returned to her parents to tell them about Gal.   
  
Unfortunately, her parents did not approve of the relationship, and had already arranged for her to be married to a Barron named Marek, who had taken interest in her before she left to study abroad. Claiming it was in her best interests, as she would be well taken care of– and that was all they wanted for her– they forbade her to see Gal any longer, stating “It will only hurt you more, the longer you allow your self to be around him. I’m sure once you cut ties with the wizard you’ll come to see that you didn’t really love him. Love is something that takes time and Marek will take good care of you.”  
  
Len was heart broken and didn’t know what to do. In the weeks to pass, Marek had come by many times. Len had told him she had no interest, but still he pursued. Frustrated, she locked her self in her room and tried to push it all away. That evening she went to take a walk to clear her mind. Gal was all she could think about, and she was not allowed to see him any longer. All of a sudden, she felt a strange sensation as she tripped over what appeared to be a large glowing rock. That was when she had an idea. Len took the rock back to her room and started carving and cutting.  
  
As Gal received the news that he would no longer be allowed to see his beloved, there was another note attached to the letter that seemingly was hidden along the seam.   
  
“Though our love may be unapproved, I am making you a gift. Travel to Amber Peek in six days time. I shall hide it in our tree. I may not be with you, but you will forever be my love. May this gift be the embodiment of that love.”  
  
Gal frowned in sadness, but a small glint was in his eye. He would wait for her in Amber Peek and they could run away together. He packed his things and left.   
  
Len had finally finished her Gift. She crafted three beautiful swords out of the strange Crystalline stone. She would give one to her beloved Gal, and keep one for her self in memory of him. The third one she intended to Bury at Amber Peek, as she would bury her love for him with it. She didn’t want to be with Marek, but if her parents wished it, she really had no choice in the matter.  
  
That night she snuck out, and traveled hours to the spot where she would leave him her gift. Upon reaching the peek, her eyes grew wide.  
  
Gal was sitting on the rock in deep meditation. Opening his eyes, he smiled at his beloved. Len ran to him and embraced him with a sad smile.  
  
“This can not be. We can not be. My parents, they’ll–”  
  
“Shhh. Let us run away together. Let the world do what it will. I don’t care if it’s wrong that a wizard fell in love. I want to be with you forever Len.”  
  
Len silently handed him the swords and Gal was in awe of their beauty.  
  
“These are beautiful gifts, let me give you a gift as well..”  
  
Then with a wave of magic, all three swords rose to the sky. Gal then enchanted them with these words,  
  
“May these swords be blessed, so that who ever touches them be linked to them, just as my soul is linked to my dear Len.   
  
May their power grow with the blade in unison, like the love I have for my dear Len grows in unison with her love for me. For there is no greater power, than that of love… ”  
  
Len had then asked,   
  
“What if my parents separate us somehow? Marek is too in love with me.. ”  
  
“Even when separated, our souls will be linked, for when we combine our spirits together, nothing can stop us. We’re more powerful than God.”  
  
At that, Len had kissed Gal and the crimson blades had all of a sudden vanished.  
  
From there, some say that Len and Gal ran off together, never to be seen again. Some say they vanished with the swords and their will is trapped within. The Barron was said to also have gone missing shortly after that same night.  
  
Many years later the legend is retold. Blades with the power of pure emotion.  
  
The crimson blades are said to be born of individuals chosen. Legend tells that the blades of power will be combined to create a power stronger than God. No one knows why or how.   
  
I leave the next page for you to answer….  
  
~~_  
  
Mindy closed the book.   
  
“So those blades have a power stronger than God… Then I just have to find out how to tap into that power.”  
  
Placing the book under her cloak, Mindy then left the Library in a rush. As she ran down the hall and vanished in a puff of smoke, Mr. Sether just barely caught her presence.  
  
Thinking quietly to him self, he wondered.  
 _  
~She seemed to be an in awful rush… That’s not like her to lose her cool like that… Something’s up.. I better keep an eye on her.~_  
  
****


	15. 15

As the fires began to die down, the black inky sky began to take on more of a blue hue to it with the stars beginning to fade away one by one. The sun had not yet come up, but dawn was fast approaching, and with it, Jesse’s cover was on a timer as well.

Still, the centaur guards had not moved.

Jesse mumbled under his breath, irritated. He had been laying under the shrubbery for most of the night waiting for them to change over the guards on watch, and had almost fell asleep a few times in the process, but yet they still stood unmoving for the most part. Not even to go to the bathroom. Did centaur even use a bathroom? I mean, they are horse people after all and horses usually go where they stand. Eww. I don’t want to think about that– CONCENTRATE JESSE!

Snapping him self out of his reverie, Jesse glanced up at the sky. Time was almost up. 

“Ok.. what’s the plan, Cox?.. Think.. Those bastards have John hidden away somewhere.. At this rate I don’t think I’ll be able to get in there unnoticed. I need to come up with a plan B..”

Jesse’s eyes darted back and fourth as he looked for some kind of in. As the sky began to lighten, more details about the area became noticeable. Eventually they settled on a small set of rocks above the cave where the two guards stood.

“Maybe if I could somehow knock those down on top of the bastards, it could incapacitate them long enough for me to get by. It’s not the best plan, but I’m running out of time. The only question is.. how?”

As the blonde continued to ponder, Darium continued to watch him as he had been that whole evening. 

“He’s been laying under those leaves for hours now.. Does he intend to just wait until they discover him?”

The red head frowned in frustration. The night was almost over and Jesse had not moved since hiding there. He had expected the blonde to rush in guns-a-blazing, and had intended to distract the guards with a spell to allow Jesse to pass through unscathed. What he hadn’t expected, was for the American to take a more cautious route. Unfortunately, that meant a much longer and boring one as well. Earlier in the evening, the dark sorcerer had considered mind control, however with the spell failing before and getting them all into this mess, Darium didn’t want to take any chances. So he chose to wait and bide his time. He just didn’t anticipate Mojo to take this long to come up with a plan.

“If he doesn’t do something soon, I’LL have to,” The red head mumbled to him self impatiently.

As the seconds ticked on, daylight fast approaching, Jesse wracked his brain for ideas on how to get in. That’s when an idea dawned on him. He just reached level 5, and as such, gained the ability to use mana to charge his swords. Maybe there was a way he could use that to knock those rocks down.

The blonde continued to think. His eyes continued searching, until they eventually fell on a rock about the size of a baseball near to him. He carefully reached out to pick the rock up, and held it in his palm, testing its weight.

“Maybe… If I can charge my sword, maybe I can charge this rock as well.”

Looking back over at the other rocks jutting out of the cliff where the cave was, Jesse focused his newly useful mana pool, trying to charge the rock with power. The rock began to heat up in his hand as he continued to focus.

“I just hope this works..” The blonde mumbled to him self as began to get up as slowly and quietly as he could. All the while, Darium watched on.

“Finally, ” the red head said in impatient exasperation, “Now I just have to watch carefully that he doesn’t get him self captured as well.”

Jesse, charged rock in hand, started to walk along the edge of the camp as stealthily as possible until he was close enough to get a clear shot at the rocks on the cliff. Angling his wrist, he threw it with everything he had, willing the heat from the mana he charged it with to be enough to dislodge the rocks down on top of the two guards.

As the projectile flew through the air, Darium realized this was his chance. Raising his own hand in the air, he drew with his fingers an incantation for a spell of forgetting. Normally this spell would only work on the weak minded, but if Mojo’s attack managed to hit them, it should be enough to incapacitate them so that when they awoke, they would remember nothing.

The guards watching the cave heard a strange whistling noise before the rock connected cleanly with the boulders jutting out of the cliff, just as Jesse had hoped. With an audible crash, the mass came tumbling down in front of the cave as the two centaur guards looked up in shock before being crushed by the falling earth.

In the midst of the noise, other centaur came out of their huts to see what had happened. Worried, yet sleepy voices whispered among them selves, as they looked about to see what caused the crash. Turning towards the cave, the image of two knocked out horse people was what greeted them. The guards laid unconscious upon the ground in a pile of promontory, as the others ran to their comrades in concern.

Jesse deeked behind a tree, just in time to not be seen. Closing his eyes, he listened carefully for his opening.

“What on earth was that noise?” One of the centaur had asked, coming out of his hut before seeing the damage.

“It looks like there was a landslide..” Commented another.

“Are they ok? Fostios isn’t going to be happy about this.” Another had replied, trotting up to the other two. 

Darium watched on, amused by the exchange. The centaur would have no idea when they woke up what had hit them, and the others would just assume it was a landslide. Now the rest was up to Mojo.

Two of the larger quadrupeds kneeled down in front of the unconscious guards as the others lifted them onto their backs to be carried away to first aid. As they trotted off, Jesse realized that this was his only chance. 

Making a dash for it, he ran as silently as he could across the camp into the cave, leaping over the rubble on the ground. Clearing the distance undetected, Jesse ran down the corridors, sword now readily in hand for any other centaur he might come across along the way. Nothing would stop him from finding John. He would make sure of that.

The sound of footsteps echoed along the walls of the space as the air began to get cooler the farther in the blonde ventured.

“John.. You have to be in here somewhere. I will find you. Hang on buddy.”

As he continued to run, Jesse eventually came upon a fork in the hall that branched off into three directions. The blonde looked back and fourth between them, before choosing the path to the left. Continuing his trek forward, he began to slow down a bit to take in his surroundings.

The air in the cave was cool and moist, and the farther he ventured forward, the darker it got. Eventually, the ground transitioned from dirt to stone as the walls of the cave became more and more narrow.

“How deep is this place?..” Jesse mumbled to him self as he walked forward, now more cautious of anyone who might find him wandering about, “John.. Where are you?”

Still stricken with worry, he pressed forward. He knew he would find John. It was only a matter of time.

***

“It’s only a matter of time now.” The Dark Lord chuckled to him self as he gazed into his Orb of the Skies. The image of the twin blood blades floated about in it’s reflection as the king gazed almost longingly into it. After a few brief moments longer, he then looked up from it, bellowing loudly,

“MR.SETHER!”

Mere moments later, the brunet appeared before the Dark Lord in a puff of smoke. Kneeling before him, Mr. Sether bowed his head, nervously. The king simply smiled as his subordinate answered.

“Yes, your majesty?”

Gazing at him with his dark eyes, there was a pause of silence before addressing him.

“Mr. Sether, I would like a report on our two favourite travelers, Mojo and TB. Are they still in the forest?”

Looking up at his lord, Sether nodded, answering,

“Yes sir. My reports show that Darium is currently working with them, posing a friend. The idea is that he will gain their trust as they grow stronger. Then when their blades are of a sufficient power, he plans to steal them for you so that you may ascend, sir.”

The dark king nodded back, pleased. Turning his back to the brunet, he wandered to the nearby window, staring out at the snow with an evil smirk. Yes. This was perfect. With Darium working with them, TB and Mojo would always be under close watch, and as they grew, their blades would power up in kind. It was only a mere waiting game now. It might be a good idea to send some underlings their way though, to toughen them up a bit more. Maybe speed up the process.

The Dark Lord chuckled under his breath quietly before replying.

“Good. Continue to keep a close watch on them. I want you to send Adair and Piran after them as well. I’m sure those two can provide an adequate challenge for our young ‘heroes’.”

Sether, bowing low to his lord, nodded in understanding.

“Yes, majesty. I’ll make sure that they are informed of their task… Oh and before I go..”

Turning from the window, the king looked back over at his subordinate irritably.

“Yes?”

“I saw Mindy leaving the library and she appeared to be in quite a hurry…” Mr Sether trailed off, noting the kings expression. The lords irritation becoming more visible, he replied.

“Your point?”

Noting the short fuse of his lord, Sether began to shake nervously before replying as carefully as he could.

“Well..umm..I just.. I felt like you should know, as those books contain a lot of important spells and–”

“Do not worry your self with her. She has been brought here for the reason that she is powerful enough to aid me when the time comes, should I need it. What she chooses to do with her spare time is none of your concern. You may ought to learn a thing from her and pick up a book your self sometime.. Then maybe you wouldn’t be so pathetically weak that I have need to rely on others in your stead.”

The Dark King turned away from his subordinate with a scowl, walking towards a large table with a map. Wondering about the progress Darium was making, the dark one thought it a good idea to check in on their positioning him self. With this new development, the progress Mojo and TB were making was bound to speed up. He waved his hand over the map as two glowing pins appeared. Gazing down at the glowing colored pins, his expression further darkened. For whatever reason, one of the pins on the map that should have been there, was not present. Something wasn’t right. Looking back at Mr. Sether, the lords tone was short.

“Is that all?”

Mr. Sether opened his mouth to reply, his concern about Mindy still evident, but upon seeing the deadly look in his masters eyes, he simply replied, “Yes sir.”

Turning to the door, the brunet walked out of the room, thoughts circling about in his head. His lord was fully trusting of the young sage. The thing was, Sether wasn’t. There was always something nasty about her and the brunet would not have put it past her to double cross them if it ever suited her fancy. After the midnight feasts announcement, it seemed troublesome that she would be rushing off so quickly, when so much was on the line at this present time. Sure his lord was stronger than her.. but running out of the library like that, she seemed as if she was heading somewhere, and fast. What would be the reason she would be in such a hurry? Something just didn’t seem right.

He had to find out what.

***

The walls of the cell that the brit continued to reside in echoed with the steps of his own feet, as John paced back and forth in deep thought. The last few hours were filled with interrogation before finally the large centaur left him to his own devices. He assured the wizard that a meal was on its way and that if everything the brit said was true, he would be released without harm.

John had no idea what that meant for him. He also had no idea where Jesse was in all of this. The longer he spent pacing about with his thoughts, the more the image of his friend laying upon the forest ground, a poison arrow lodged into his arm, continued to replay over and over in his head. Was Jesse ok? John frowned as he stopped mid step.

“Come on now, Focus! You need to review the facts before letting panic take you,” the brit mumbled to him self quietly.

The centaur seemed adamant that they had done nothing to the townsfolk. But then, why would Aru send them on this quest if that were the case? The apparent leader seemed to be much more powerful than John.. Did the young merchant intentionally attempt to send him and Jesse to their deaths? It just didn’t add up. Someone was lying, and the way the centaur were treating him lead the brit to believe that it wasn’t his captor that was being dishonest. One thing was for sure– Arumid would have to answer a lot of questions when all this was over with…

.. That is if the brit even made it out of this cell alive.

Glancing his eyes to the hole in the cave, John took note that it must be morning. The light shining through had gotten considerably brighter in colour and the small cell was beginning to appear warmer, if only just a little bit. Wandering back towards the far wall, the brit sat him self down and decided now would be a good time to meditate. If he couldn’t work on honing his sensory abilities due to the dampened magic field, he would work on his internal self instead.

His mind continued to wander as he analyzed and went over everything that had happened within the last week. Time seemed to have sped up from the moment he and Jesse entered this unknown game and it already felt like months that they had been here. This world was so alive. It’s people and cultures seeming to have so much history. It was clear that there were beings far more powerful than him self, and in spite of the situation he found him self in at this present moment, that thought made the brit smile.

He wanted to grow stronger. He wanted to learn more. These centaur, even as his jailers, still had a sense of honor about them. John was sure that there was a lot more to discover about this world, and part of him was really interested in learning about it. He just had to play within the centaurs rules for the time being, until he could find a way out of this cave and back to Jesse.

The fear that he held towards them was not something to make light of, however. In spite of all that though, John had faith that it would all work it’s self out.

If Arumid was to blame for this, then the young red headed merchant would be taken back to his own cell and John would be released. The possibility that Arumid would kill the centaur instead was very low, as he would not have asked the brit and Jesse to exterminate them if he could have done the job him self.

…Unless he intentionally sent the two of them to their deaths, knowing full well how powerful the centaur were. But then that left the question, how powerful is Arumid?

John, mulling over this a moment, considered a few possibilities. Aru didn’t really give the sense that he had much power. All the merchant ever seemed to do was act as your standard quest giver. But if that were true, than why would he send the two of them to do a quest that was well beyond their level? What would be gained from sending him and Jesse to their deaths?

John’s mind went back to the night the red head had called the Dark Lord his 'Majesty’. Perhaps his first instincts were correct? In any case, John shook his head of those thoughts for the time being. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it at this present time. Maybe when the chief centaur returned, he would know more about the Dark Lord. Any information the brit could get his hands on would be useful. It may even shed some light on Arumid’s allegiances.

John’s mind once more returned to his blonde friend.

“Jesse.. I know you’re still alive. A stubborn bastard like you wouldn’t die to something as simple as poison,” the brit mumbled under his breath, “Just hang on. If I play my cards right, I’ll be out of here soon–”

The brunets thoughts were broken at the sound of wooden bars creaking open. The centaur was back with a tray of food and a jug of water on it.

“Here is your first meal as promised for cooperating with us.” The large horse creature said to him, setting the tray down at John’s knees.

The dark haired wizard smiled gratefully at him, debating on asking his questions now or after he ate. Eventually, he decided on the latter, picking up the bowl that seemed to have some sort of lukewarm paste inside it. It was brown, with a somewhat gritty texture and smelled absolutely awful. But in spite of that, it was at that moment, John realized just exactly how hungry he was.

The centaur proceeded to leave the cage, taking his place behind the wooden bars. He then proceeded to watch John, expectantly.

The brunet scooped up a somewhat large portion of the gruel and brought the spoon towards his lips before pausing. What if this food was laced with something? John may have been hungry, but could he afford to have something happen to him too? How wise would it be to eat food provided to you by your captors? Instead of taking a bite, he put the spoon down, setting the bowl back on the tray reluctantly.

Upon seeing this, the large centaur smiled, impressed. 

“You are a lot smarter than many of the others we have jailed. So many of our enemies have been quick to dig in before analyzing the potential consequences that could result from not checking something as simple as the food we provide them while being held for questioning or punishment. Starve your self if you like, though I can assure you the meal is safe to eat.”

The centaur looked off to the left absentmindedly as he continued to explain.

“Our scouts inform us that the one you call Arumid is no longer present at Widows Point. He seems to have fled, though his shop is still set up. Some of the other merchants in the area told my scouts they saw the red headed man you described wandering off into the forest after a young blonde man. Everything you have told me thus far seems to be true.”

At the mention of a blonde man, John’s eyes darted to the centaur behind the bars.

Jesse’s still alive.

Doing his best to suppress a smile, John replied,

“So I’m free to go then?”

“Not so fast. We still haven’t apprehended this Arumid..” The centaur frowned, his eyes returning to John, “I fear for my clan. If this Arumid had commissioned you and your friend to attack us, what’s to say he isn’t already on his way here with that blonde fellow coming to attack our innocent people? No. You are still our captive. If you have to, you will also serve as our hostage. Your blonde friend.. 'Mojo’ as you call him.. He would be most reluctant to attack you, I imagine. Until Arumid is taken into custody, you will remain with us.”

John’s eyes fell back to the food, his hopeful expression fading to a defeated one.

The centaur continued, “If those two are seriously on their way here, it would be advantageous to leave. Don’t get too comfortable, as you will be coming with us. I must go for a spell, but I will return.”

At that, the horseman took his leave. John sat in silence for a moment before turning his gaze back to the food on the tray. The brits belly rumbled audibly. He was quite hungry, and the more he thought about it, the worse it felt.

“It it worth the risk? I mean…I’m no use to them dead, so I know that this glop probably wont kill me.. I’m just so hungry.. What’s the worst that could happen? .. Chances are this has some sort of mana suppression in it.. well if anything like that exists in this world.”

Picking up the spoon, John lifted it towards his lips again, pausing before taking a bite.

“If I don’t eat, I’d essentially be useless anyway magically… I suppose I’ll have to find out. Better off simply weak than weak and hungry.”

Closing his eyes, John proceeded to take a bite of the crude meal that had been placed before him. It tasted like old fermented peanuts with a strange hint of something bitter. Aside from the fact that the man hated nuts (peanuts in particular) the flavor was quite terrible, yet strangely filling.

Before long the pasty food was gone and John, sipping at his water, returned to meditation.

So the centaur are going to be leaving. The man could only wonder where they planned to go. With an internal sigh of relief, John thought to him self quietly.

“At least Jesse is alright… and my captor may not be far off the mark. Knowing Jesse, he probably IS on his way here, no doubt. Arumid is following him as well… This could complicate things a little..”

After a pause, another thought occurred to John. If Jesse was on his way here, he probably was looking to save the dark haired brit. If the American thought to attack them, it would not only anger the centaur further, but could possibly get Jesse killed as well as potentially ruin his chances of getting free. It’s not like Jesse was strong enough to take out an entire village.. At least not on his own. As much as the man didn’t want to admit it, leaving before his partner arrived might be the best course of action after all.

Standing up, John began to pace back and forth again restlessly. He only hoped that the centaur chief would come to a decision about fleeing quickly. Turning his gaze to the darkness, the brit sighed. Waiting was all he could do.

***

As Fostios walked through the many corridors of the dark cave, his mind was racing with worries about his clan. This strange wizard man had provided quite a lot of valuable information about the potential threat, and for the most part seemed to be quite forthcoming with information about his commissioner as well as his cohort. From the information that his scouts had gathered, it seemed an attack on the village was imminent.

Exiting the cave, the horseman noticed a rather sizable pile of rubble outside the entrance. Two new guards were standing posted other than the ones who he had appointed earlier. Turning to them, the sandy colored magic user questioned them.

“Where are Istess and Dragdas? I thought it was them who I ordered to stand watch?”

The two centaur looked down at the rubble before replying.

“There was a landslide. The rubble at our feet had accidentally fallen upon them, and they are currently being treated for head injuries at the moment. We took post here until they were cleared and able to return to work.”

Fostios nodded, “I see.. I would tell you to keep vigilant however, I am thinking it might be best for us all to head away early to our other encampment to the north. Our scouts have informed me that the one that the wizard had described to me may be on his way here. I can’t risk having this place attacked.. Give the commend that we are leaving early for the season. I’ll deal with the prisoner. One of you round up our women and children, the other gather our hunting party. We leave on the hour.”

The two centaur bowed their head in respect, “Yes sir.” and at that they took off to prepare the clan to leave.

***


End file.
